Into The Woods
by zoebrenn
Summary: An unexpected long weekend results in the team heading off for a camping trip where two of them grow much, much closer. A sequel to 'Analyst In Distress' and heavy on Nallen for all the shippers out there!
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my new story. It is a sequel to 'Analyst In Distress' and will frequently reference the events of that story, so if you don't want to be confused, I'd recommend reading it first. I'm going back to my fluffy happy roots here and I can promise this will be heavy on the Nallen. I hope you like it :) Zoe**

It was late afternoon on a Thursday and the team arrived back at OSP from the boatshed having concluded their latest case. It had been a tough couple of weeks, starting off with Nell's life being threatened by a corrupt former Navy Commander intent on maintaining links between a Venezuelan drug cartel and dealers in Washington DC, and leading to four back to back cases which had the team running all over LA, working multiple undercover operations and exceptionally long hours.

Henrietta 'Hetty' Lange watched as Callen, Sam, Kensi and Deeks traipsed to their desks with shoulders hunched and heads lowered, wearily sitting down with a few more groans than usual. She knew they needed a break, so with purpose she walked over to the bullpen and drew their attention.

"Agents." She greeted them.

"Hetty." Callen nodded as he reclined in his chair.

"Long Weekend." She drew the words out. "I don't want to see any of you until Monday morning." She stated. The team looked surprised and all eyes turned to stare at her. Hetty would usually pressure them for paperwork and reports about now so to hear the words 'Long Weekend' came as an utter shock.

"Now go, before I change my mind." Hetty turned on her heels and with her hands clasped behind her back she walked back to her office. She had a little personnel juggling to do to cover things at the office for the next few days.

"Long weekend?" Callen looked at Sam with one raised eyebrow and a smile tugging on his lips.

"Long Weekend." Sam smiled and nodded back. "We've been meaning to take that camping trip for months G."

"The weather this weekend _is_ supposed to be good." Callen rose to his feet to gather his things, enthusiastic about the prospect of a chilled weekend in the wilderness. Over the last few weeks Callen had found himself struggling not only with the intense pressure of the cases they had been dealing with, but with emerging feelings for a woman he never expected to fall for. Some time away from it all was just what he needed.

"You guys are going camping?" Kensi asked, perking up a little. "I want to go too." She said, sounding like the kid sister trying to tag along with her older brothers as they went off to play.

"What do you think Callen?" Sam asked his partner. It was a teasing question because they both knew they would let her come. Callen shrugged and smiled at Kensi.

"She _has_ been trapped in the city for a long time." He responded, winking at Sam.

"Awesome." Kensi started to get her things together.

"Hey, don't I get an invitation?" Deeks asked suddenly, drawing the attention of the other three.

"You hate the outdoors." Kensi stated, her face a picture of surprise. Sam threw Callen a knowing look and a smirk fell onto Callen's face. The blonde detective's 'non-feelings' for Kensi were well know.

"I know." Deeks nodded. "But I keep getting dragged out there so maybe I should learn to like it." He shrugged, not entirely sure they believed him.

"I guess if Kensi gets to come." Callen sighed as he stood. He shrugged on his black leather biker jacket and lifted his bag onto his shoulder, noticing Eric and Nell coming down the stairs as he turned. At the sight of the intelligence analyst, his heart swelled a little and he couldn't help the smile that came onto his face. He recalled how he had teased Kensi for being 'smitten, stuck, whatever' on Deeks when they had first met him as an alias, and he could only describe himself in the same way now. He was stuck on, smitten with, besotted by and completely enamoured with Nell Jones.

"Hey guys." Eric greeted the team as he and Nell arrived in the bullpen. "Hetty just called up, told us we're getting a long weekend."

"And _we_ were just making plans." Sam replied.

"Oh yeah, what are you going to do?" Nell asked, her eyes drifting over to Callen. She was looking forward to their surprise time off but she knew she would miss seeing Callen. He had been pretty much a permanent fixture in her life of late, from staying with her for several days after her ordeal, to checking in on her frequently at the office and calling to make sure she got home and was safe. She hadn't expressed to him how much that meant, but after having her home invaded by a knife wielding drug dealer intent on stabbing her to death, Nell craved a feeling of safety and he gave that to her.

"Sam and I are going camping." Callen said, meeting Nell's gaze. "And we just agreed to let Kensi and Deeks tag along." Callen shook his head, as if knowing it was all going to end in trouble.

"You two want to join the party?" Sam asked.

"I don't do camping." Eric stated.

"I'm in." Nell smiled. "I _really_ need a vacation." She added, glancing over at Callen again in time to see a smile light up his face.

"_You're_ going to go camping?" Eric asked Nell, surprised that a computer geek like himself would want to spend time in the great outdoors, away from the internet and technology.

"Sure. I used to go camping all the time at home." Nell shrugged.

"Come on Eric, everyone else is doing it." Deeks teased the younger man. Eric looked at Nell then back over the rest of the team and threw his hands up in the air.

"Fine, I'm in." he resigned.

"So, where are we going?" Kensi asked with enthusiasm.

"I was thinking Crystal Lake in the Angeles National Forest." Sam suggested. "Good camp site, good fishing, just far enough away from everything." Sam rubbed his hands together.

"We'll take two cars." Callen nodded. "Sam, you can pick me up at 8."

"Kensi, you're closest to Deeks and Eric, so Callen and I will pick up Nell." Sam added, after thinking through the logistics for just a moment.

"Great, two hours in a car with the surfer boys." Kensi rolled her eyes as she grabbed her bag. "Deeks, I'll pick you up first, at 8. You'd better be ready." She moaned as she made her way out from behind her desk and out of the bullpen.

"I'm always on time. You're the one who's always running late." Deeks countered as he jogged to catch up to her.

"Whatever." Kensi replied as Deeks followed her down the hall. "We'll meet you guys at the site office about ten." She called back to Sam as she threw her hand in the air to wave goodbye.

"Does the campsite have wifi?" Eric asked turning to Nell. She thumped his arm playfully and grinned before she walked over to the lockers to get her bag and jacket. She was already thinking what she would need to pack for the camping trip and the sooner she got home to organise everything, the better.

"Nell, we'll be by about 8.30." Sam called as he and Callen made their way out.

"Great, can't wait." She replied, feeling her cheeks flush a little as she saw Callen look back and toss a smile her way. After leaping head first back into the intense world of OSP, a weekend in the wilderness was just what she needed. And a weekend in the wilderness with Callen for company was even better. Maybe this weekend would be a chance for her to really explore what was going on between them because she was pretty sure she was not the only one whose heart beat a little faster when they were in the same room.

**So, what did you think? I'd appreciate a review **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all the positive reviews for the start of this sequel. And thanks to everyone who has put an alert on the story - I'm thrilled you're looking out for the next instalment. And here it is. I hope you enjoy! Zoe.**

It was a little before 8.30 on Friday morning when Sam pulled the borrowed SUV up to Nell's apartment building, his Challenger being way too small for all the camping equipment _and_ three people. She was already waiting outside for them and Callen chuckled when he saw her. Standing at the curb in a pair of very tight light blue jeans, a grey hooded sweatshirt and sneakers, Nell had a large backpack at her side that easily reached her shoulders and it was laden down with camping gear. Callen wondered how she had even managed to get it down from apartment by herself as it looked like it could easily weight twice her own body weight.

"Morning Nell." He greeted her with a warm smile and bright eyes, as he stepped out the car and moved to take the bag from her.

"I got it." She grinned and heaved the bag off the ground, staggering round to the back of the SUV. Callen stepped back and let her do it herself, admiring her desire to be independent. But as she struggled to actually lift it into the trunk, he shook his head, smiled and took it from her, effortlessly lifting it off the ground and tossing it in the back with his and Sam's gear.

"We're only away for three days." He laughed. "What did you pack?"

"Only what we might need. I like to be prepared." She replied as her eyes drifted to the contents of the trunk. She spotted Callen's bed-roll, a couple of backpacks, three tents, a guitar case, two coolers and a plentiful supply of beer. Her eyebrows rose and she went back to the guitar wondering whether it was Sam's or Callen's.

"Girl Scout?" Callen asked, quickly drawing her attention back to him. Nell merely shot him a look that said 'do you even need to ask' before she moved around to climb into the back seat, taking the one that placed her behind Sam. With a shake of his head and smile that was becoming a permanent fixture on his face whenever Nell Jones was around, Callen jumped back into the passenger seat and pulled on his seatbelt.

"We good to go?" Sam checked.

"Let's roll." Callen smiled as he settled in the seat. Despite initially seeing this weekend as a way to get his head clear away from the source of what was fogging it up, he was glad Sam had invited Nell along. He knew it might actually give him a chance to do something about his feelings for her. As Sam pulled out into the road, Callen glanced back at Nell and when she met his eyes and smiled back, he felt a his stomach flutter with nervous excitement. There was definitely something between them. He just had to find the right moment to explore that.

xxx

When Kensi left her apartment, she was more than excited about their camping trip. She hadn't been camping in the longest time and though it was only for a couple of days, she was looking forward to being away from the city and in surroundings she felt at home in. As she drove to Deeks' apartment, she thought about the hikes she would take and sleeping out in the fresh air. And while she had teased Deeks about coming along, she really didn't mind. He kept her life interesting and their flirtatious banter was always entertaining. And with Nell and Eric joining them all, she knew they would have a fun and interesting few days.

But Kensi knew she had drawn the short straw with the travel arrangements for this trip when she went to pick up Deeks and found him clutching a large Starbucks coffee and paper bag filled with packets of Starbucks sachets of ground coffee. The man could mainline caffeine but she had not expected him to be unable to go three days without a fix of the good stuff. She _really_ knew she had drawn the short straw when she picked up Eric and he clambered into the back of her car with a large bag stuffed with electronic equipment.

"Eric. The whole point of this weekend is to get out of the city and relax. Do you really need all that?" she sighed.

"Yes." he stated, his tone almost questioning her need to ask.

"This is going to be a long ride." Kensi muttered to herself as she pulled away from the curb.

xxx

A couple of hours later the two cars had convened at the campsite. Sam, Callen and Nell had arrived first and Sam had already booked in, scoring a prime camp site with its own fire pit that was secluded enough to give them privacy without leaving them too far from the amenities on offer.

After unloading everyone's bags, the tents and their supplies, Sam and Kensi took the cars to the parking lot whilst the others started to set up. It only took a few minutes for Nell to grow irritated by Deeks and Eric. They had dived right in to the task but were fumbling around with the tents, not knowing which pole went where. And when a few moments later they abandoned the task and started joking around, each using a pole like a sword, Nell dropped her head into her hands out of sheer frustration. Callen took a few steps over to her and placed his hand on her back, just below her neck.

"Deep breaths Nell." He joked. Nell dropped her hands and glanced up at him, his soft expression and expressive eyes making her forget about the chaos for just a moment. She had noticed he did that a lot lately, touching her subtly on the back or the arm when she was stressed or worked up about something. And it always had the same calming effect.

"They're like untrained puppies." She shook her head. Then taking Callen by surprise, she put her fingers to her mouth and whistled sharply, causing both Deeks and Eric to freeze.

"Drop everything." Nell commanded, pointing to them and then to the ground. Callen laughed as the petite woman took charge. She had always been a force of nature but he worried she had been spending a little too much time with Hetty given how easily she could make them all jump when she wanted to.

"You're getting everything mixed up." Nell stomped over to where the two men stood and dropped to her knees. "I can't believe they let you play with guns and run the ops centre." She muttered to herself as she took a few minutes to get the tent poles and canvasses in order.

"Deeks, take these." She stood up and handed him a bundle of tent poles. "Eric, these are yours, and Callen." She smiled warmly at him as she handed him a bundle of poles. "These are for you." Callen took the bundle, letting his hand slide over hers as he did so and watching with delight when he saw her cheeks get just a little flushed and her gaze sharply avert to her shoes.

For the next fifteen minutes Nell was like a drill sergeant, barking orders and watching their every move as the three men assembled the tents. But it paid off and by the time Sam and Kensi returned and joined the group, the three tents were set up.

Callen took a moment to take in their temporary home. Surrounded by lush forest and green grass, the tents were set up in a semi-circle about ten feet from the fire pit. The fire pit itself had a large slightly curved log along one side, providing seating or something to lean your back against. His mind flashed forward to when it would be dark, the stars would be out and there would be a roaring fire. It would be a very romantic place to be with Nell and maybe tell her how he felt about her…if he weren't also with his partner, two bickering agents and a computer geek who hated camping.

"So, are we sharing with our partners?" Deeks asked with a cheeky grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows, breaking Callen from thoughts of being snuggled up in front of the fire with Nell in his arms.

"In your dreams Deeks." Kensi punched his shoulder as she walked past him and found her backpack in the pile of bags and supplies that had been stacked up by the fire pit. "Nell, which is ours?" she called over.

"Your pick." Nell called back. Kensi considered all three tents then settled on the one on the end, nearest to the short footpath to the bathrooms. She joked about it but she really did have a teeny tiny little bladder and in the middle of the night, a few feet could make all the difference.

Also wanting to get her bag away and her sleeping bag set up, Nell moved over to the pile and began to tug hers out, using both hands to heave it out from amongst the others. As she gave it one last yank, she lost her balance and stumbled backwards but instead of falling, she bumped into something, or rather someone. She felt two hands on her upper arms, holding her steady and instantly knew exactly who it was just from his touch.

"I got you." Callen whispered, causing Nell to shudder and suck in a sharp gasp as his breath tickled her ear. As she tried to compose herself, Callen released her and stepped around, taking her bag in one hand and hiking it up onto his shoulder.

"You really should learn to pack light." He joked as he walked away from her and over to the tent. Nell could only nod and follow, thrown by how quickly he could move from such intimacy to absolute casualness. He did it a lot, getting close to her only to back off moments later. She had a strong feeling he was doing it deliberately to get her to react, and when he turned to look at her just as he reached her tent and winked, she decided he definitely meant to do it.

"Yo G!" Sam called over as Callen deposited Nell's bag inside the tent. "What do you say to a little fishing?"

"As long as no-one expects us to catch dinner." Callen smirked. He didn't get a thrill out of actually catching fish, it was the peace and quiet of sitting out by a lake or a river he enjoyed, so more often than not his fishing line would sit in the water without bait.

"Anyone else in?" Sam asked as he crouched by his things and retrieved the fishing poles, tackle box and a couple of foldaway chairs he had brought for this very purpose.

"I'm going for a hike in the woods." Kensi announced as she emerged from the tent. "Deeks, you wanna start learning to love the great outdoors?" she asked, inviting him along with her.

"No time like the present." He grinned and rubbed his hands together. He wasn't so much excited about the hike, more the alone time with his partner.

"I think I'm going to stay here. I have a new book I want to get started on." Nell told Sam. She was fighting against the instinct to stay go with Callen but she knew three would be a crowd and with Sam around, Callen was unlikely to say or do anything to give her a clue as to what was going on in his head. She also wasn't really a big fan of fishing – it was too much sitting around doing nothing.

"Eric, what are you going to do?" she asked as she walked over to her pseudo partner. He held up a portable game console and dropped into a deckchair he had just unfolded by the fire pit.

"Well, it looks like it's just you and me Sam." Callen walked over to his partner and took his gear. He was trying not to be too disappointed that he would be spending the afternoon away from Nell and definitely not letting himself think about what it meant that given the opportunity, she hadn't opted to go with him.

Xxx

Nell had been sitting on a blanket by the fire pit reading her book for a while but she had grown distracted. Eric was sitting a few feet away, totally engrossed in his game. As she looked over at him, she realised there was something she needed to do but hadn't had the right opportunity to in the last few weeks. They were alone and now seemed as good a time as she could imagine. Marking the page with a bookmark, she placed the book down and got to her feet, crossing over to stand by him.

"Hey Eric, can I talk to you a minute?" Nell asked, surprised that she sounded a little nervous. Eric glanced up from his console and seeing the serious look on her face, he paused the game.

"Uh, sure." He replied as he shifted in the chair a little.

"So, I haven't had a chance in the last few weeks to tell you this." She began as she crouched next to him. "But I need to say thank you. If you hadn't kept digging, the team wouldn't have known Hector Valdez was still alive until it was too late." She reached out and placed her hand over Eric's. "Callen saved my life by shooting Valdez, but you saved my life by letting him know I was in danger. And I'm eternally grateful." She leaned in and pecked his cheek. Eric, clearly surprised, got nervous and began to fidget, avoiding her gaze.

"It was nothing. You'd do the same for me." He muttered.

"I would." She confirmed. "We're partners." She grinned and rose to her feet. "You can get back to your game now."

xxx

Sam and Callen were sitting at the edge of the lake, their fishing lines out in the calm water as the bright mid-morning sun shone down. They had been sitting in silence for a while, and though Callen was sure Sam was just enjoying the absolute quiet of the woodland and revelling in how different it was to LA and the craziness of the last few weeks, he had spent the time thinking about Nell.

She had intrigued him from the moment she first appeared at NCIS. He had been convinced she would be gone in a week but despite a rocky start, she seemed to have won Hetty over and in the process the agents too. And for the longest time he thought of her as nothing more than a colleague. He was actually convinced she and Eric had a thing, given their sometimes awkward interactions and geeky flirting. It really was only recently that he noticed he felt differently; that his heart beat a little faster when she was in the room, that he looked forward to seeing her every day and felt disappointment if he didn't. And then a little over two weeks ago he almost lost her. To be here with her now, in the wilderness hanging out with their friends, was a minor miracle.

"This was a good idea Sam." Callen said, taking his partner by surprise by the sudden break in silence.

"What, fishing?" Sam asked with a smile, turning to look at his Callen.

"This trip Sam."

"I think we all needed it." Sam said as he looked back out over the lake.

"It _has_ been a rough few weeks." Callen acknowledged with a slight nod of his head.

"It's been a rough year G." he paused. "Prague." Sam's comment needed no explanation.

"And the Sudan." Callen countered.

"Kensi." Sam nodded.

"And Nell." Callen felt himself getting a little angry as he thought back to the trauma Nell had been through and how they had come within seconds of losing her.

"She's bounced back well." Sam commented after a moment, looking back at his partner.

"She's strong." Callen stated.

"And she's had you." Sam turned to his partner. It only took Callen a moment to look round at his partner, a slight questioning look on his otherwise neutral face. "Come on man, I see it." Sam smiled.

"See what?" Callen asked, feigning ignorance because although Sam was correct in his suspicions, he wasn't quite ready to talk to him about it yet. Not until he knew what he was going to do about it.

"Nothing man." Sam laughed, realising his partner wasn't in a sharing mood. "I see nothing."

Sam knew it wasn't unusual for Callen to keep something to himself. He didn't trust easily and even as his partner and best friend, Sam knew there were parts of Callen's life he was unlikely to ever know about. But he knew Callen would talk to him if and when he needed or wanted to, and that was good enough.

**I'm just getting warmed up. Lots more Nallen to come.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks so much to everyone who continues to review my story. I don't think I can every express how much joy I get from seeing your reviews in my inbox. It makes everything worthwhile and I am so pleased you are enjoying this story. I had originally intended on this being about five chapters but it is quickly getting a lot longer! I hope you enjoy this next bit. Some fun team activity. Zoe.**

It was a little after two in the afternoon and Nell had long since given up on her book, her mind drifting too often to a certain Special Agent to be able to concentrate on the plot. Instead, she had spent some time organising their supplies and making a note of what they could make for meals, had taken a long walk around the campsite whilst indulging in her thoughts about Callen and the things he had said and done which left her with little doubt that they were definitely more than colleagues and quite possibly more than friends too, if only one or other of them would do or say something about it.

For the last half hour she had put those thoughts to the back of her mind and been preparing lunch for everyone in anticipation of their return.

Eric hadn't moved from his deckchair all day but Nell was content to let him be. She knew he hadn't really wanted to come along on this impromptu trip but she thought it was nice of him to make the effort to be with the team, even if he was a little lost in his own world.

Nell was just finishing up putting the sandwiches she had made onto paper plates on top of a small foldaway table she had brought when Kensi and Deeks returned. Nell could hear Deeks complaining from fifty feet away and it caused her to laugh out loud.

"Deeks, will you shut up!" Kensi grumbled as she and her partner reached the camp site. "Three hours Nell, three hours of that." She jabbed her finger at Deeks then threw her hands up in resignation.

"I got eaten alive out there." Deeks immediately complained to Nell. "Vampiric, blood sucking devils." He moaned as he scratched at his arms. Kensi rolled her eyes and muttering something Nell couldn't quite hear, she wandered off to her tent to get changed.

"This _is_ the wilderness Marty." Nell reminded him as she took a few steps to a small bag she had been keeping a few essential items to hand in. Digging around in it, she pulled out a tube of cream. "Antihistamine cream." She said as she handed it to Deeks. "It'll stop the itching."

"Thanks Nell." Deeks replied gratefully as he immediately opened the tube and started slathering it over his bite covered arms.

Distracted by helping Deeks, Nell didn't hear Callen and Sam approaching until she heard Callen's voice directly behind her.

"What's all this?" Callen asked as he spotted the food and drinks set out. Nell whirled around, her heart pounding when she found herself face to face, or rather face to chest, with the man.

"Oh hi." She gasped, a little caught off guard by his close proximity. "I made lunch for us." She tore her gaze away from his toned chest and up to his face.

"Thanks Nell, you didn't have to." Sam called as he moved to put the fishing gear near his tent.

"Yeah Nell. Thanks." Callen smiled warmly and placed his hand on her shoulder for just a moment, giving it a gentle squeeze. He couldn't help himself, when he was around her he had to find a reason to touch her.

"It was nothing." Nell shrugged. She spent every day doing things for the agents to make their lives easier and to her this was just a natural extension of that. "Help yourselves." She gestured to the food.

"So what are we doing this afternoon?" Kensi asked, having emerged from her tent in fresh jeans and a t-shirt. "Oh hey, food." She added, making a beeline for the plates.

"I saw a basketball court when I took a walk earlier. Maybe it's time for a rematch – without Hetty to referee." Nell grinned.

Xxx

An hour later, Callen, Sam, Deeks and Eric were waiting at the basketball court for Kensi and Nell. Deeks was bouncing the ball and making free throws whilst pointing out that once again, Kensi was the one running late.

"Relax Deeks, we're here." Kensi called as she and Nell approached. Callen turned on his heels to see the two women approaching. Kensi was wearing tight black leggings and a fitted t-shirt, showing off her figure to its fullest. Nell on the other hand, was wearing black running pants and a large baggy t-shirt layered with a long sleeved top underneath. It drove him crazy because while most women in LA left nothing to the imagination, Nell left _everything_ to his imagination.

"So if this is a rematch, we get the same teams right?" Callen looked around everyone.

"As long as Eric actually plays this time, and doesn't hand the ball to the opposition." Deeks laughed.

"I was caught off guard." Eric defended himself.

"What are we playing? First to 21?" Kensi asked. Everyone nodded in agreement and as the six of them spread out around the court, the game began.

Callen had been impressed by Nell's aim the first time she sank a basket in the gym, and she didn't disappoint. Despite being the shortest on the court, Nell scored several baskets early on until Kensi, Deeks and Eric were trailing 10-4.

"Come on Eric, she's like half your size. How come she keeps getting past you?" Deeks moaned in jest.

"She's sneaky." Eric shrugged.

"I'm not sneaky, just good." Nell smirked and gave Sam a high five as he passed her.

"Maybe we should switch it up." Kensi suggested to her team. "I'll take Nell."

"What, and leave me with Callen?" Eric looked horrified.

"I'll go easy on you." Callen joked.

Callen did go easy on Eric and even though Kensi was guarding Nell, the analyst was still able to make several long shots. Between celebrations of Nell's latest basket, Callen took a moment to observe his team. It had been a while since he had seen everyone enjoying themselves and they were definitely more relaxed then he seen any of them in months. He paid particular attention to Nell and was happy to see her laughing and fooling around with everyone, seemingly carefree. He knew she was still carrying a lot from what happened to her several weeks ago – no-one went through what she did without having a little baggage, but if this were anything to go by, she was definitely going to be okay.

As he got back into the game, he and Sam dominated the court. With their well-practiced moves and Nell's free throw abilities, they easily had the advantage over Kensi, Deeks and Eric and it wasn't long before they claimed victory.

"And that's how it's done." Callen gestured widely with his hands and took a mock bow.

"It's all about teamwork." Sam added as he jogged over to his partner and they bumped chests and patted each other on the back.

"Hey, I helped too." Nell spoke up.

"Yeah, I knew you could shoot but girl, you can play." Sam complimented her as Nell joined both men.

"Nell, you can be on my…" he caught the glare from Sam, "I mean _our_ team anytime." Callen slung his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a side hug before loosening his arm but leaving it hanging off her shoulder. Though he was a little concerned about showing too much affection towards her publicly, he didn't believe anyone would think anything of the friendly gesture.

"I demand a rematch." Deeks announced, clearly frustrated that his team had lost.

"This was the rematch." Callen smirked.

"Come on man, I need a chance to redeem myself." Deeks persisted.

"Well you can do that without your partner." Kensi sighed. "I'm done." She told him as she walked to the edge of the court then dropped down onto the ground and began to pull her hair from her ponytail and redo it, scraping back the hair that had come loose during the game.

"Kensi, Princess, you can't leave us hanging." He called after her. "We can't play with five."

"You can if I go too." Nell announced. "I'm out." she took a step forward and Callen lifted his arm to release her, his hand sliding over her shoulder as she moved to join Kensi.

"Two on two?" Sam looked at Deeks and Eric.

"I don't know." Eric shook his head.

"Come on Eric, I know you got game in there somewhere." Deeks encouraged, knowing if Eric gave up he wouldn't get his game.

"Fine." Eric agreed, his tone suggesting he was none too thrilled. But Nell saw the smile tugging at her friend's lips and knew he was actually happy to be included. And with the reduced teams agreed, the four men squared up and began a whole new game.

As Nell settled herself at the side of the court and watched the game, she found her eyes following only Callen. As he ran the court, dodged around Deeks and Eric and made jump shots, she found herself entranced. With each shot he took, the muscles in his arms flexed and she recalled having those arms wrapped around her the night he rescued her from Valdez and how safe and secure it made her feel.

The longer the boys played, the harder they played and as Callen squared up to Deeks they tussled a little. Nell watched with wide, admiring eyes as she saw how Callen used his strong shoulders to bump Deeks out the way to get the shot in. She was a little surprised at how it made her feel. Nell had never been one of those girls who swooned over manly men, she was usually drawn to the intellectuals who in her world were skinny, pale and a little bit geeky. But watching Callen posturing and showing off, she felt a tingle in her stomach. And she felt like he was deliberately trying to impress her because each time he made a shot, he turned to look at her, as if seeking her recognition. And she found herself willingly giving it to him, at first with a smile in return, then as Kensi's support for Deeks and Eric became more vocal, Nell began calling out "great shot" or "way to go!" Before long she and Kensi were both on their feet, cheering and shouting like they were at a real game.

Time flew by and before long the sun was getting low in the sky. The game was hard fought and with a lot of laughter and some playful banter from both on and off the court, the game ended with Sam and Callen winning but only three points ahead of Deeks and Eric.

"Kensi, you gotta help me out." Deeks pleaded, none too pleased that he had lost again.

"No can do." She shook her head. "It's probably about time we got dinner started." She glanced at her watch.

"Great, I'm starving." Eric tossed the ball he had been holding to Deeks and moved across the court to join the Junior Agent.

"Fine. I can be a graceful loser." He moaned as he joined Kensi, Eric and Nell.

"But can you be a clean loser?" Kensi waved her hand in front of her nose and pointed to Deeks' sweaty shirt.

"What? Does my man smell not turn you on?" he joked as he tugged at his shirt.

"Just go take a shower." Kensi sighed. "Nell, you had a suggestion for dinner?"

"Uh huh." She nodded. "But we'll need to get the fire started."

"Hey G. What about a little one on one?" Sam asked. Callen stole a glance at Nell, torn between wanting to play with Sam and spending more time with Nell by going back down to the campsite.

"Uh, sure big guy." He replied after a moment. Then he jogged over and picked up the ball Deeks had dropped. "How long do we have Nell?" he asked.

"Um, about an hour and half" she replied after making a few quick calculations. "Oh, and that includes time for you to shower." She added. Both men looked down at their sweaty shirts then looked back to see Kensi and Nell walking away from them laughing.

Xxx

Two hours later everyone was gathered around the fire pit, sitting on blankets and the fold away chairs, with plates of food on their laps and beer in their hands.

"Awesome dinner Nell." Deeks complimented as he shovelled another spoonful of the stew she and Kensi had made into his mouth.

"I helped." Kensi thumped his arm, startling him and causing him to choke a little.

"Easy there Blye." He laughed as he wiped his mouth. "We're a long way from a hospital."

"Wimp." She retorted playfully.

"Hey guys." Callen interrupted and drew everyone's attention with his serious sounding tone. "I just want to say, _before_ we get drunk…" he smirked. "It's been one hell of a year, but I'm glad we're all here to enjoy this." He raised his beer bottle.

"I second that." Sam raised his bottle. "To friends."

"To family." Nell added, glancing over at Callen and meeting his gaze with a smile.

"To friends and family." The others agreed, each raising their bottles to the toast.

**I have to admit that I haven't actually seen the episode with the basketball scenes but I have watched a clip on youtube so forgive me if anything seems weird about the references I've made. It fit so well with what I wanted them to do I just had to bring it in.**

**And I think the end went a little bit too mushy, so I stopped it there and the next chapter will pick up after dinner and it'll be a good one filled to the brim with Nallen. **


	4. Chapter 4

**So I didn't mean for this chapter to be so long but there wasn't a natural point at which to split it into two, so you get a really long chapter filled with lots of team and Nallen moments. I was going to wait another day before posting, but what the heck. Enjoy! Zoe.**

With full stomachs and beers on hand, the team were seated comfortably around the fire pit before a roaring fire. Callen sat on the ground in the middle with one arm stretched out across the large log that half encircled the fire pit. He was content watching his friends as they chatted animatedly. Nell was at his right side, deep in conversation with Kensi and Deeks while Eric and Sam were talking about scuba diving. The sun had gone down and the darkness was creeping in, the glow from the fire and a couple of lanterns providing their real light.

"I know what this little party needs." Kensi suddenly announced.

"What's that?" Callen asked.

"It's a surprise." She laughed as she jumped to her feet and took off towards her tent.

"I should have got her to bring me back a sweater." Nell said as she rubbed her arms, feeling the cool night air chill her through her thin long sleeved top in spite of the heat from the fire. "I'll be right back." She moved to get up.

"Nell." Callen stopped her with a hand on her knee, then slipped off his zip up hoodie and handed it to her.

"You sure?" she asked, seeing he was only wearing a t-shirt. He nodded and smiled as she slipped her arms into it, tugging it close around her front. He couldn't quite explain the feeling it gave him to see her wrapped up in his jacket. There was just something about a girl wearing a guy's clothes that he found both sexy and cute at the same time.

He was torn from his thoughts when Kensi returned, clutching a brown paper bag.

"What's in the bag Kensi?" Deeks asked.

"Tequila!" she announced with a grin, as she pulled a large bottle from the bag and held it in the air. After putting it down on the ground, she pulled out six plastic shot glasses and began setting them up on the little table.

"What? No salt and lemon?" Callen joked, receiving only a playful glare from Kensi in response.

"Who's in then?" Kensi asked as she opened the bottle and began to pour the golden liquid into the shot glasses.

"Me!" Nell reached over and picked up one of the glasses.

"I never figured you for a tequila shot kinda girl." Callen commented with a smirk on his face.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." Nell replied with a smirk of her own as she passed a glass to the Senior Agent.

"Touche." he rose his glass to her.

"You know what would liven this up even more." Deeks began. "A little…game." He nodded with a cheeky grin.

"And what exactly did you have in mind?" Sam asked sceptically.

"How about 'I never'?" Deeks suggested.

"Deeks, that game _never_ ends well." Callen shook his head.

"Chicken?" Deeks teased.

"No. As long as what is said at Crystal Lake stays at Crystal Lake." Callen responded with raised eyebrows in a subtle warning. Even with his limited experience, 'I never' usually resulted in someone's most embarrassing or darkest secret being revealed and he had no desire to have to deal with the aftermath.

"Okay, everyone got their shots?" Kensi checked. "And since this game was Deeks' suggestion, he goes first." She grinned at her partner. Deeks looked thoughtful for a moment then stared right at Callen as he spoke.

"I never kissed Kensi."

"Deeks!" Kensi thumped him.

"There _will_ be payback." Callen retorted as he took his shot, completely missing the brief look of jealousy flash across Nell's face.

"My turn." Kensi announced as she refilled Callen's glass. "I never dressed up like the cop on CHIPS." She laughed. Callen and Sam glanced at each other, remembering their six month operation undercover as Highway Patrol cops, before they lifted their glasses in a silent toast to each other and knocked them back.

"I never…streaked in public." Callen asked, knowing this would be one round he wouldn't be drinking. He glanced around everyone else and saw both Eric and Nell look down momentarily before taking their shots, the only ones to do so.

"Really?" Deeks gasped. "Both of you have streaked?" he asked, vocalising what everyone was thinking, that those two were last people they would expect to perform such an act.

"I was drunk at the time." Eric defended himself.

"I wasn't." Nell sniggered, causing Callen's eyebrows to rise in shock.

"I never…got a tattoo." Sam took his turn, drinking his own shot immediately then looking around to see who else was going to drink. Kensi took a drink which was unsurprising, but when Nell drank her shot, everyone stared at her.

"What?" she shrugged.

"So, what's your tattoo of?" Callen asked, leaning in close.

"More importantly, where is it?" Kensi laughed.

"That is something you're unlikely to ever find out." She laughed as she held out her glass for a refill. She had only done two shots but paired with the two bottles of beer she had drunk, she was feeling quite tipsy. And that is what led her to make her 'I never' statement.

"I never…had someone try to kill me." Her words startled everyone given how recently it happened to her. As she looked around, she caught Callen's gaze, even in the minimal lighting seeing his eyes darken and narrow, and that familiar look of concern mixed with a little horror cross his face.

"Come on, if I'm not able to joke about it I might as well quit my job and push paper at a desk at the Pentagon." She shrugged and knocked back the shot.

"She has a point." Deeks nodded and took his.

"To being shot." Kensi raised her glass with flare before drinking the shot.

"Shot and stabbed." Callen chimed in as he drank.

"Shot, stabbed and blown up." Sam swallowed his tequila with a slight grimace.

"To being frelted." Eric finished.

"Shouldn't we be worried about that?" Nell asked seriously, looking around at the others who appeared to be thinking the same thing. "Nah." they all agreed with a muttering or a shake of their head.

The game carried on for a few more rounds before it drew to a natural conclusion. Callen realised they were all getting incredibly drunk very quickly. Except Deeks. It hadn't escaped his attention that the Detective had only done two shots and Callen wondered just how honest he had been.

"Hey Eric, I don't suppose you've got something in your bag of wonder that I can hook my iPod up to?" Kensi asked as she fished her iPod out her pocket.

"I have speakers." He replied as he staggered to his feet and clumsily stepped over Nell and Kensi, heading to his tent.

"Oh God." Deeks sighed. "Are we going to have to listen to your techno crap all night?"

"It's better than jazz." Callen laughed, garnering a glare from Sam.

"It's not _only_ techno music I like." Kensi pouted as Eric returned and quickly set up the speakers. Within a minute the playlist from Kensi's iPod was streaming and Deeks sighed with relief that it was actually bearable while Kensi began to move and sway with the beat as she sat.

"I think I need some water." Nell announced. She started to get to her feet but immediately lost her balance and fell back down, bursting into giggles. "I _really_ need some water." She laughed. As she made another attempt to get up and used the log to brace herself, Callen rose with her and took her arm to help keep her steady.

"I'll go with you. Anyone else need water?" he asked, getting a quick shake of the head from Sam and Eric.

"We're good." Deeks waved him off as he turned back to tease Kensi about her lack of rhythm.

Callen walked slowly beside Nell as she stumbled towards her tent where the cooler with the bottled water was being stored.

"You alright there Nell?" he asked, looking down and smiling at her.

"I'm fine, Callen." She replied, flashing him a grin before she stumbled again, almost losing her balance. Callen reached out and grabbed her waist with both hands, keeping her on her feet. When she was balanced again, he kept an arm around her waist, holding her close against him as they walked.

"Just remind me whose idea that little game was tomorrow morning so I can plot my revenge." She laughed and leaned into him, letting her head fall against his chest. She had long since lost her inhibitions and let herself just enjoy the feeling of closeness and knowing he wouldn't let her fall.

"Wait here. I'll get the water." Callen said to her when they reached her tent. Nell didn't argue, she was pretty sure if she so much as looked down at her feet she would fall over. A moment after disappearing into the tent, Callen emerged and handed a cold bottle of water to Nell. She immediately uncapped it and took a long drink, her eyes drifting over to the fire pit.

"They look like they're having fun." She said, watching Kensi as she desperately tried to get Eric to get up and dance with her while Sam and Deeks laughed at her efforts.

"Are _you_ having fun?" Callen asked.

"I am." She replied, glancing up to look at him. "Thanks for inviting me." Callen's response was to wrap his arm around her shoulder and as Nell leaned into him again, he threw caution to the wind, bending head down and placing a soft kiss on the top of her head, silently thinking he was just glad she was around to _be_ invited.

"Come on, we should get back and rescue Eric." Callen laughed, seeing that Kensi had pulled Eric out of his chair and was trying to get him to move his hips to the music.

"Nell, you'll dance with me right?" Kensi called as the pair approached the fire pit.

"Kensi, I love you, but no." Nell shook her head and laughed. Aside from never dancing in public, mostly for their own safety, Nell was too comfortable next to Callen with his arm around her and she was in no rush to move away.

And Callen was in no rush either. He walked her past Kensi and sat them down beside the fire, keeping his arm around her the whole time. He was a little surprised that no-one commented on the fact that he was sitting with Nell essentially cuddled up against his side. In all fairness he wouldn't have expected Sam to comment on it in front of the others. He would likely save that for when they were alone. And Eric wouldn't risk Callen's reaction if he made a comment. But he would have thought Deeks would have made a joke about it, or for Kensi to comment. But as he looked around he realised Deeks was too interested in watching Kensi and she herself was too drunk to really notice. So he relaxed and took a gulp of beer, letting himself fall into the drunken conversation and just enjoy the night for what it was.

xxx

A few hours on the other side of midnight later, and it was just Callen, Nell, Deeks and Kensi still awake. Sam had said his goodnights a while back and headed to his tent, closely followed by a very drunk Eric who practically crawled from the fire pit to the tent he was sharing with Deeks. Kensi and Nell were huddled together at the far side of the fire pit, giggling like school girls as they finished the bottle of tequila and listened to the music, having moved the speakers over beside them.

"You know we're going to get the blame for the hangovers they have tomorrow, right?" Deeks said to Callen as he looked over at the girls.

"Oh, I know." Callen smirked.

"Maybe we should have cut them off." Deeks wondered out loud.

"I'd like to have seen you try." Callen laughed as he finished his beer and reached to open another, passing it to Deeks before taking one for himself.

"What do you think they're laughing about?" Deeks mused. Callen glanced over then sat up a little when he heard Kensi squeal.

"Boys." He chuckled.

xxx

"Come on Nell, you can tell me." Kensi whispered.

"Tell you what?" Nell whispered back, all too aware that if she spoke any louder both Deeks and Callen would be able to hear them despite the music.

"What it is that's going on between you and Callen." Kensi grinned and looked over at Callen, who was talking with Deeks.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Nell replied innocently.

"Please, I see the way he looks at you." Kensi grinned. "The way you look at him." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively as she offered Nell a shot of tequila. "And for a man who isn't big on PDA, he's been paying you _a lot_ of attention lately. I saw you two earlier, all snuggled up in front of the fire." Kensi laughed as she drank her shot.

"He's just being friendly." Nell reasoned, even though she couldn't keep the grin off her face.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure he wants to be a lot more than friendly with you."

"Shhh, he'll hear you." Nell quickly looked over at Callen, to find him staring at her. Blushing, she turned back to Kensi.

"Relax, he can't hear a thing." Kensi gestured for Nell to drink her shot and the young analyst obliged, thinking that if everything went wrong, she could just blame the tequila.

"You do like him, right?" Kensi checked.

"You won't go blabbing to Deeks?" Nell checked. Kensi shook her head vehemently.

"Girl talk is sacred." She affirmed.

"I _really_ like him." Nell grinned. Kensi squealed and grabbed Nell's hands.

"It's about time there was some romance around here."

"There's hardly any romance going on." Nell sighed.

"And there won't be unless you let him know how you feel." Kensi said, trying to sound wise despite her inebriated state. "Callen is a complicated man but the one thing I do know is he does everything to protect himself from getting hurt and unless he's sure you won't reject him, he won't make a move."

"Urgh, why are boys so…" Nell trailed off, taking a final shot of tequila. "But why are we only talking about me? What about you and Deeks?"

"Deeks!" Kensi laughed then realising she had spoken quite loudly she covered her mouth with her hand and returned to hushed tones. "There is no me and Deeks."

"Really?" Nell shook her head disbelievingly.

"Really. We're partners. Even if we wanted to we couldn't." she stole a glance at her partner who was laughing with Callen on the other side of the fire.

"He is cute." Nell grinned. "That floppy hair, scruffy beard, his big blue eyes."

"You don't need to remind me." Kensi laughed. "I'm not blind."

"Good, because I was beginning to think you might be." Nell chuckled.

"Oh please." Kensi reached for the bottle of tequila and pouted when she found it empty. "Hey, we're all out." She held the bottle upside down, shaking it a little as a few drops fell onto the grass.

"Did we drink all that?" Nell laughed and reached over to grab the bottle but Kensi moved it out of her reach and Nell felt herself toppling over and landing on the soft grass, bursting into loud laughter.

"You're drunk." Kensi laughed as she leaned over the younger woman.

"So are you." Nell retorted, poking Kensi with her finger, causing Kensi herself to fall over and land beside her.

xxx

Deeks and Callen looked over at Nell and Kensi when they heard loud laughter, seeing that both women had collapsed onto the grass.

"I think they're done." Deeks nodded as he finished his bottle of beer.

"Come on, it's time to play hero." Callen laughed as he set his beer down and rose to his feet. With Deeks at his side he walked around the fire and over to Kensi and Nell. The two women were lying on their backs, still laughing, though a more sober Callen and Deeks had no idea over what. Nell had been laughing so hard she was actually crying.

"Alright Fern, time for bed." Deeks crouched down and grabbed Kensi's arm, pulling her to sit up.

"It's still early." Kensi protested.

"Yeah, early morning." Deeks replied. "Up we go." He grabbed her other arm and hauled Kensi to her feet, wrapping his arm around her waist as she struggled to stay standing.

"No fair." She pouted as he began to walk her towards her tent.

Callen crouched next to Nell and brushed a lock of hair from her face.

"Can you sit up?" he asked with a smile on his face.

"No." she laughed, wiping a tear from her face before throwing her arms out to each side. "I'll just sleep here." She sighed.

"That's not a great idea, Nell." He said as he dropped onto one knee. Then slipping his hands under her arms, he lifted her upright. But as soon as she was sitting up, she collapsed against Callen, her world spinning, and she began to giggle again.

"You are _hammered_." He laughed. "Put your arm around my neck." He told her as he slipped one arm around her back and the other under her legs. Nell wrapped both her arms around his neck and held on as Callen rose to his feet. Then making sure she was secure, he started to walk the short distance to the tent.

Nell's world was in a spin. She couldn't see straight. She couldn't think straight. But she knew where she was and she liked being there. She could feel the warmth from Callen's body flooding into her and as he held her close, she let her head fall onto his shoulder, her eyes fluttering closed.

"Hey Deeks." Callen called as he reached the tent. The younger man had just got Kensi inside and was emerging from the tent when Callen reached him.

"Did she pass out?" he asked, looking down at Nell as he held the tent open.

"No I did not." Nell mumbled and forced her eyes open.

"Okay, here you go." Callen lowered Nell to the ground but held her around the waist from behind as she struggled to stay on her feet. She leaned her back into him as she swayed a little, before moving forward to get into the tent. Callen followed, keeping two hands on her waist as she ducked inside. As soon as she got in, she fell forward onto her open sleeping bag, slowed only by Callen's firm grip on her. Once safely down, she rolled over and sighed sleepily, closing her eyes as Callen tugged off her sneakers and dropped them at her side.

"You alright Kens?" Callen asked, glancing over at her equally drunk tent mate as he pulled the sleeping bag over Nell.

"Mmm hmm." Kensi mumbled and rolled over onto her stomach.

"Goodnight Nell." Callen whispered, turning his attention back to the young analyst. Then not really caring if Deeks could see, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, feeling a surge of warmth flood through his chest when she sighed and a smile settled on her face.

When Callen emerged from the tent a moment later, Deeks was hovering outside, his hands stuffed into his jeans pockets.

"I think I may have to give up some of my coffee stash to those two in the morning." He joked.

"I'm surprised they got so drunk." Callen commented as he began to walk slowly with Deeks towards the other tents.

"I'm not." Deeks replied. "Not when they know they've got us to look out for them."

Callen looked at Deeks with surprise.

"You're not drunk at all are you?" he asked with a smile, realising Deeks had deliberately stayed sober to watch over Kensi.

"Nope." He shook his head. "As soon as I saw Kensi on her third shot I knew she was going to go all the way and I'm her partner, I need to have her back." He shrugged. "I can't very well do that if I can't see straight." He looked at the Senior Agent. "Just like you with Nell." He added, throwing Callen a meaningful look.

"What do you mean?" Callen asked, even though he was pretty sure Deeks was hinting at knowing Callen had feelings for Nell.

"She's not your partner, but I know you care about her." Deeks knew he was treading on thin ice but he continued. "She's been through a lot lately and she feels safe with you, anyone can see that." Callen remained silent and Deeks took that as a sign he could carry on.

"She's been on guard for weeks, always looking over her shoulder. But tonight she let her guard down because she knew you wouldn't let anything happen to her. She trusts you." Deeks came to a stop outside his tent. "Well, g'night Callen." He said lightly, as if he hadn't just been talking about something quite serious.

"You know Deeks, sometimes you surprise me." Callen laughed. "You can be really deep."

"Yeah, just don't tell Kensi. It'll ruin my image." He laughed as he unzipped his tent and stepped inside.

Callen took a look around the now silent campsite and after briefly thinking about joining Sam in their tent, he decided to go back to the fire pit. He wasn't really tired and Deeks had actually given him a lot to think about. He knew Sam had suspicions and now Deeks seemed to know how he really felt for their youngest team member. Callen had been trying to be controlled around Nell, careful with how he spoke to her and touched her, until tonight anyway. But if everyone was already thinking it, maybe he didn't need to be so guarded. Whatever happened, he knew tomorrow would be interesting.

**I'd love it if you left me a review :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**I am so completely overwhelmed by the amazing reviews for the last chapter that I am actually speechless. I can't thank you enough for that feedback – it has motivated and inspired me. I think you'll like what comes next, at least I hope so. **

Nell woke with a groan and as she blinked her eyes open and looked around, she realised she was alone in her tent. Her memory was a little patchy from the night before but she knew she had gotten really, really drunk _and_ admitted to Kensi she liked Callen, who then had to carry her to her tent because she could barely stand. It was probably not her finest hour but her hangover aside, it had otherwise been a great night, the first time she had really let loose in months.

As she threw the sleeping bag off her body so she could get up, she realised why she was feeling so uncomfortable – she he had slept in her jeans…and Callen's hoodie. She bunched up the front of it in her hands and held the soft grey fabric to her face, breathing in his familiar scent. Memories of the previous day and night came flooding back, namely the time spent curled up with Callen by the fire. She was sure that if she just told him how she felt he would tell her he felt the same, but saying those words and taking that step was easier said than done. Once it was out there was no taking it back and if things didn't work out, there would be consequences.

Clanging and clattering noises from outside assaulted her delicate head and Nell figured that as well as Kensi, everyone else was already up. Pulling on her sneakers and dragging herself to the front of the tent, she yanked down the zip and peered out into the bright morning sunshine.

She spotted Kensi first, sitting on the log at the fire pit with one hand pressed to her head, the other clutching a cup Nell assumed was coffee. Callen was cleaning out the fire pit from the night before, while Sam, Deeks and Eric looked to be tidying up after breakfast. Glancing at her watch, Nell saw it was only 9am but by the looks of things the others had gotten up early, clearly less affected by the previous night's drinking. But that wasn't at all surprising since they weren't the ones that polished off a bottle of tequila.

Nell finally worked up the courage to get up and staggered out of the tent, groaning loudly as her head thumped and her eyes stung from the bright sun.

"Oh hey, Nell's finally up." Eric said cheerfully.

"Morning." Nell croaked as she walked over to the fire pit, her whole body moving far too slowly for her own liking.

"Morning." Callen greeted her with a sympathetic smile as he walked towards her and she came to a stop before him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he placed his hands on her shoulders, giving them a soft squeeze. Nell couldn't formulate a response; she just leaned forward and let her head fall onto his chest, a soft groan escaping her lips. She didn't care that everyone was around, she just needed a little TLC and he was right there willing to give it.

"You'll feel better with some coffee in you." Callen told her as he moved his arms from her shoulders and rubbed her back soothingly. "Hey Deeks, you got more coffee?" Callen called over, glancing down when Nell mumbled something unintelligible.

"What's that?" he asked.

Nell pulled back from him and held a single finger to her lips.

"Quiet voices." She whispered.

"Sorry." Callen laughed lightly. "Why don't you sit down and I'll bring you some coffee." he said in a softer voice. Then he turned Nell around and with a hand still on her back, he led her over to the log and sat her down beside Kensi.

"I feel like crap." Kensi whispered before she took a sip of her coffee.

"It's like there's a heavy metal band playing in my head. " Nell replied.

"Why did they let us finish that bottle?" Kensi shook her head slowly. "I blame Deeks." She decided.

"Me too." Nell smiled a little.

"Here." Callen suddenly appeared and crouched before Nell, handing her a cup filled with Deeks' Starbucks coffee. He rested a hand on her knee as she took it from him and she flashed him a weak but grateful smile. As he rose and headed back to help Deeks clean up, Nell let her eyes follow him.

"So into him." Kensi muttered under her breath with a smile.

"I think I need a shower." Nell sighed.

"Me too." Kensi rose to her feet. "Hey, what's the plan for this morning?" she called over to the four men gathered a few feet away.

"We thought we'd take it easy this morning, since you two are feeling a little…delicate." Sam laughed. "We're going down to the lake to do some fishing. Can you believe neither Deeks or Eric have ever been fishing?"

"I _can_ believe it." Nell nodded, immediately regretting moving her head so much.

"We'll meet you down there in a bit." Kensi told Sam. "Come on Nell." She grabbed Nell's hand and pulled her up, the pair making their way back to their tent with coffee cups still in hand.

When they emerged from their tent with clean clothes and towels in their hands a few minutes later, the guys had already left the camp and taken the fishing equipment with them.

"So, what are you going to do about Callen?" Kensi asked Nell as they walked up to the shower block.

"You remember that huh?" Nell asked, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Yup." Kensi grinned. "So?" she probed.

"I have no idea." Nell sighed.

"If you want, I can make sure you two have some space this morning. Deeks will be easy to distract, and I'm sure Sam will keep Eric occupied, you know how he gets when he's 'teaching'." Kensi offered.

"Isn't that a little obvious?" Nell asked, biting down on her lip nervously as she realised she might actually be forced into confronting her feelings for Callen.

"Nell, I think you two are past being discrete." Kensi laughed. "Wait for me when you're done, we'll walk down together." Kensi told Nell as they entered the shower block and found cubicles.

Nell spent the next fifteen minutes letting the lukewarm water rinse away her hangover. When she had dried off and changed into fresh jeans and a top, she felt a lot more human, though she was completely exhausted. With a big yawn, she dropped down onto the steps by the door to wait for Kensi.

Xxx

Down at the lake, Sam was setting Deeks and Eric up with fishing poles and attempting to show them how to bait the hook.

"Do I really need to touch it?" Eric asked, looking at the worm with disgust in his eyes.

"It's a worm Eric, it won't bite." Sam replied.

"I know. But it's gross, and slimy." Eric tentatively took the worm and dangled it in front of his face, analysing it.

"Hey G, are you going to help at all?" Sam called over to his partner. Callen had found himself a great spot, sitting near the edge of the lake on a soft grassy patch with his back resting comfortably against a very wide tree. He had a line in the water but held it loosely in one hand, his eyes slightly hooded from not getting much sleep.

"This was all your idea Sam." He called back, making no effort to get up.

"Great. Thanks, partner." Sam replied with mock annoyance.

"Sam, I got my line baited, what now?" Deeks asked, proudly showing Sam the hook with the worm dangling from it. Sam moved over to Deeks and showed him how to cast the line into the water, getting frustrated as Deeks' did so a little too enthusiastically and got the line caught behind him on a tree branch.

"This is going to be a long morning." Sam shook his head as he glanced over at Eric who was still holding the worm, seemingly unable or unwilling to put it on the hook.

Xxx

Kensi felt much better after her shower and as she joined Nell outside, they made the short walk back to the campsite, depositing their old clothes in their tent. Nell still clutched Callen's hoodie in her hand and tossed it into her tent on top of her clothes deciding she didn't need it. But as Kensi started down the slope towards the lake, she suddenly changed her mind and grabbed it, slipping it on she hurried to catch up. She wasn't cold, but she really liked how it felt on her.

"Hey, there they are." Kensi pointed out the spot where the guys had set up and with Nell behind her, made her way over.

"Hey." She greeted Sam, Deeks and Eric where they stood by the water's edge.

"Feeling better Fern?" Deeks laughed, receiving a glare for his use of 'Fern'.

"You got one of those for me?" she asked Sam, pointing at the fishing poles.

"I'm gonna go…" Nell trailed off quickly when she realised no-one was paying any attention to her. Her eyes drifted over to where Callen sat and she found her feet walking in that direction. A glance over her shoulder confirmed that Kensi was keeping Deeks company while Sam was working with Eric on casting his line into the lake. It looked like she was going to get some alone time with Callen after all.

"Hey." She stood beside Callen, looking down as he sat with his eyes half closed. When he heard her voice he opened them fully and turned to look up at her. He was quite surprised to see her still wearing his hoodie, and he briefly wondered what that meant. He knew she had her own sweaters with her, but she had chosen to keep his on.

"Hey, have a seat." He patted the ground next to her and smiled warmly, pleased that she had come over to him. Nell dropped to her knees then shifted her weight and sat down about a foot away from him, crossing her legs. "Feeling any better?" Callen asked.

"Some of the cobwebs have cleared but..." she was prevented from continuing by a massive yawn, using her arm to cover her mouth.

"But you're tired, right."

"Exhausted." Nell admitted. "I don't sleep properly when I drink."

"Maybe you should have stayed at camp, got some more sleep." Callen looked at her with concern as he noted her unusually pale face and red rimmed eyes.

"I didn't want to miss out on seeing Deeks and Eric trying to catch fish." She replied, immediately wishing she could have just told him she wanted to spend the time with him.

"Well you've got a front row seat." Callen glanced over at the other four. "Get comfortable, it'll be an interesting show." He laughed.

Nell shifted and wriggled on the grass, trying to do just as he suggested, but she couldn't quite get comfortable. She leaned back against the tree then immediately shifted forward and shuffled a little towards Callen.

"Problem?" Callen asked.

"Looks like I picked the least comfortable spot." She glanced at the ground around her.

"Come over here then." Callen gestured for her to move closer, and after glancing at him for a moment, Nell scooted over until she was sitting right next to him. To her surprise but delight, he lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulder, drawing her against his side.

Nell wriggled a little and positioned herself so she was nestled in the crook of his arm, turned slightly away from him so she could the rest of the team fishing. Callen's arms were fast becoming a welcome place to be and she was a little surprised that she wasn't nervous about that. In fact, it felt entirely natural. She felt him shift, sliding down a little so he was half lying on the grass, both legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at his ankles. As she glanced over at where the others stood, she caught Kensi's eye and was pretty sure, despite the distance between them, that Kensi winked at her.

After watching the others for ten or fifteen minutes, Nell felt her head getting heavy and she let it fall onto Callen's chest, too tired to keep it up any longer. With the warm sun beating down on her, she was struggling to keep her eyes open and when she felt Callen slowly stroking her arm through the fabric of his hoodie, it was like being lulled to sleep. She stopped trying to keep her eyes open and just let them fall closed.

As Callen looked down at Nell and listened to her rhythmic breathing, he knew she had fallen asleep. Drawing her a little closer to him, he couldn't help but think what it meant that she had so easily fallen into his arms, particularly when their friends were only feet away. They hadn't spoken about the change in their relationship at all but maybe they didn't need to. Nell seemed entirely accepting of his affection towards her. He knew if she weren't comfortable with the direction they seemed to be heading in she wouldn't continue to allow him to touch her or hold her. So maybe he didn't need to actually _tell_ her how he felt. Maybe he could just show her. And with that last thought, he settled back against the tree, let his fishing pole fall to the grass and his eyes close.

xxx

Sam's voice stirred Callen from sleep. As he opened his eyes he glanced down momentarily to see Nell's arm thrown across his stomach and her whole body turned into him, her knees pulled up to her chest. Looking up again he saw Sam walking towards him and there was no mistaking the 'I knew it' look on Sam's face. Callen realised he would have to do some explaining to his partner…later.

"Yo G!" Sam called again as he got closer. Callen immediately put his finger to his lips.

"She's sleeping." He said quietly.

"Uh huh." Sam smirked. "So, Deeks and Eric have actually caught a couple of fish. We're going to take our catch up to camp and cook it up for lunch. You two lovebirds joining us?" he laughed.

"Sam." Callen frowned a little. "We're not…never mind." He shook his head, realising he couldn't really explain. "We'll meet you up there in a bit." He looked down at Nell and glanced at his watch, realising they had both been asleep for almost three hours. He hadn't even realised he was that tired.

"Eric thinks you two are a couple, just so you know." Sam told him. "I think he's a little bit heartbroken." He added with a chuckle as he began to walk away.

Callen let his eyes drift back down to the sleeping analyst and he knew that there was really nothing stopping them from being together if she wanted it too. Clearly the others all knew _something_ was going on and so far it didn't appear that any of them had any real issue with it. But he worried about taking that step. It would make it real and that meant real emotions, real feelings and the very real possibility that he could get hurt.

"Mmmmm." Nell mumbled as she stirred, her arm moving from Callen's stomach to rest on his chest by her head. Knowing it would take a little while to get a fire started and to cook the fish, Callen decided to let her sleep a little longer. So tightening both arms around Nell, he rested his chin on her head and started to think about whether he was ready to take things to another level.

**I always appreciate when you leave a review :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for all the amazing reviews for the last chapter! I'm thrilled that so many people like this story. I'm really enjoying writing it and funnily enough, I keep getting inspiration for other stories while I'm writing it – shameless plug for my new series "Emotions". Anyway, hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

Nell felt something warm and soft brushing across her cheek and as she slowly opened her eyes, she found herself staring at Callen's chest. Lifting her head, she saw he was gazing down at her with a soft smile on his face. She blinked a few times as she fully woke up and realised exactly where she was – curled up in Callen's arms, again.

"Hey." he said softly, his fingers tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Hey." She smiled back, meeting his intense blue eyes as they stared down at her.

"Sleep well?" his voice was almost a whisper.

"Uh huh." Nell nodded, unable to tear her eyes away from his. The way he was looking at her had her unnerved. There was purpose behind his bright blue eyes but she couldn't work out what that purpose was. She bit down on her lower lip and hitched in a breath as his fingers stroked down her cheek, her stomach twisting into knots when she saw him lean in towards her.

Callen wasn't really sure what he was doing but he let his fingers brush against Nell's cheek and he leaned in close, his tongue licking his dry lips. He locked eyes with her and for several long moments they just stared at each other, each breathing short sharp nervous breaths.

Then suddenly a loud beeping sound cut through the air and snapped them from the moment. With a heavy sigh Callen pulled away and reached into his pocket to pull out his cell. Nell lifted herself off his chest and sat up as he checked the message.

"Sam." Callen nodded. "Lunch is ready."

"Oh, okay." Nell ran her hands through her hair and as she brought them back to her lap, she realised they were trembling a little. She glanced at Callen and could tell immediately he was thinking about what had just happened. He had been going to kiss her and was interrupted. His face was neutral, giving nothing away, but his body language was tense and his arm around her was stiff. Was he suddenly rethinking everything?

"We should go." Callen said stiffly as he drew his arm back from around her shoulders.

"Um, sure." Nell responded and got to her feet, feeling confused. As Callen rose beside her, he was kicking himself. He had his moment. He could have just kissed her but that damn message came in and he stopped to look at it. Looking over at Nell, now she looked nervous and tense. Had he entirely misjudged everything about what was going on between them? If his cell hadn't gone off, would she have rejected him?

They made their way back towards camp in silence, walking side by side but with more distance between them than they had had in days.

Xxx

Kensi was sitting by the fire pit when she spotted Callen and Nell coming up from the lake. As she watched them her brow furrowed and her lips pursed together. Recently they had been draped all over each other but now, they were walking a foot apart, like two strangers. She wondered immediately what had happened. When she had last seen them, Nell was curled up with him asleep at the edge of the lake and they had only been alone for half an hour. What had happened in that half hour to create the change?

"Hey Nell, give me a hand?" she called over as she rose to her feet and walked towards the younger woman. Nell looked relieved to be able to get away from Callen and that had Kensi nervous.

"Hey Kensi." Nell greeted her as the two women moved away from the fire pit and over towards their tent.

"Nell, what's going on?" Kensi asked, her voice full of concern. Nell glanced over at Callen, who was talking with Sam.

"I don't know." Nell shook her head. "Everything was going great and then…"

"Then what? What happened?"

"He was going to kiss me." Nell almost whispered. "But then Sam texted and he couldn't get away from me fast enough." Nell still couldn't understand the change in Callen and her eyes drifted back over to him. Kensi followed her gaze and watched him for a moment, then turned back to Nell.

"Don't worry Nell, I'm sure it's nothing." She tried to sound reassuring but the younger woman looked concerned.

"I don't know, I think maybe he realised what he was doing and changed his mind."

"I'm sure that's not it." Kensi shook her head.

"What else could it be?" Nell asked, frustrated.

"With Callen, it could be anything. He's not exactly an open book." Kensi shrugged. "Look, just relax. You need to take control here." He placed a hand on Nell's shoulder. "Let him know you're still interested."

"What's the point." Nell sighed.

"The point is he's crazy about you." Kensi said firmly. "Nell, I wasn't going to say anything but I've known for weeks that he likes you." Nell threw her a questioning look. "I don't want to bring up bad memories, but when we first found out about Shaun Stevens, I saw Callen change. He was worried about you, more than I've ever seen him worry about anyone. And when Callen found out from Eric that Hector Valdez was still alive and going after you, he went postal on Shaun Stevens. I've known Callen a long time and he has never reacted like that, not even when Dom was missing." Kensi paused, her own bad memories resurfacing. "Sam had to pull him back." Nell's eyes widened as Kensi revealed something she didn't know.

"Postal?" Nell asked, her voice wavering a little.

"Pinned him to the wall and was choking the life out of him." Kensi confirmed. "And do you really think Callen stays with any of us when we've been in danger?" she asked, a smile tugging at her lips. "Trust me, that man…" she glanced over at Callen. "…is so into you. But you might need to give him a push in the right direction."

"Maybe you're right." Nell nodded.

"Don't give up on him Nell. He's been alone almost his whole life and his most meaningful relationships have been when he was working undercover. Being with someone who knows him for who he really is new to him and he's probably worried he's going to mess things up."

"He's not the only one Kensi." Nell admitted.

The two women turned and made their way back over to the fire pit where the others were already sitting down tucking into the fish that Eric and Deeks had caught. Kensi dropped down beside Deeks and took the plate he offered. Nell took a second then with a deep breath, she stepped right past everyone and sat down next to Callen, throwing him a warm smile. She hoped it would show him she wasn't backing away and she was heartened when he smiled back at her.

"So what are we going to do this afternoon?" Nell asked.

"I need to do something active." Kensi grinned. "There was too much sitting around this morning."

"What about a game of flag football?" Sam suggested.

Xxx

An hour later the six campers had found a large open patch of grass near their campsite and Sam had retrieved an old football he kept in the trunk of his car. Deeks had insisted they picked all new teams and now Callen found himself with Deeks and Eric, while Sam had Kensi and Nell. He was a disappointed that Nell was not on his team. After the hiccup at the lake earlier, he had been hoping for an opportunity to get back to where they were, but being on opposite teams was not going to afford him that chance.

"Um, we don't actually have any flags, so how does this work?" Eric asked, scratching his head.

"Instead of grabbing a flag off a player, you just tag them." Sam explained.

"And no-one is going to tackle me?" Nell asked nervously.

"No." Callen assured her as he stepped over and rested his hand on her shoulder. "It's a non-contact sport."

"Good, because you guys are pretty good at doing that and I don't think I'd fare so well." She smiled.

"We ready?" Deeks asked impatiently.

"Ready." Sam clapped his hands together.

And with that, the two teams squared off. Deeks hiked the ball back to Callen who took off running but was quickly tagged by Sam. They reset and for the next thirty minutes there was a lot of laughter as the ball flew back and forth between players and both teams scored several touch-downs. But soon Callen's team scored again putting them ahead.

"Sorry guys." Nell apologised to Kensi and Sam. "I may be able to throw a basketball but clearly football isn't my thing."

"Don't worry Nell. I have a plan." Kensi winked and explained to Sam and Nell what her idea was. Sam looked dubious but he shrugged and agreed to go along with it. "Come on, let's go." She clapped her hands and the teams lined up for another play.

Callen hiked the ball and passed it back to Deeks. As he began running towards the end zone, Kensi ran straight at him but instead of tagging him, she threw her whole weight at him and took him down in a tackle.

"What the hell!" Deeks exclaimed as he found himself flat on his back with his partner on top of him. "Non-contact sport Kensi." He moaned as she rolled off him and stood up. "And that was very much contact." He sat up and rubbed his lower back.

"You can take it." She laughed.

"I call foul." Callen stated, pointing at Kensi.

"It was an accident." Kensi replied sweetly.

"Accident my ass." Deeks muttered as he got to his feet. "You're going down Blye." He warned.

"Bring it on Marty!" she called back as she re-joined her team.

"Kensi." Sam drew her and Nell into a huddle. "Deeks is going to be gunning for you now."

"Exactly, so we use that to our advantage and get the ball to Nell." She winked.

"Me?" Nell looked sceptical.

"Callen and Deeks will be focused on me and Kensi, they won't be expecting it." Sam explained.

"But…"

"It'll be fine Nell. Just catch the ball and run." Sam smiled.

"Okay, but I don't think this is going to work." She shook her head, getting a bad feeling about this play.

It started without a hitch. Deeks and Callen appeared to be focused on Kensi and Sam while Eric stayed close to Nell. As Sam passed the ball to Kensi, she made like she was going to run, then suddenly tossed it over to Nell. Surprised that she had actually caught it, Nell took off down the field. Deeks blocked Kensi as Eric darted in front of Sam. Callen, being the faster runner, began to chase after Nell, quickly gaining ground. Kensi and Sam both realised that the others had predicted their plan and this was their counter play.

Totally unaware of what was happening behind her, Nell ran towards the end zone. But suddenly with only a few feet to go, she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist and lift her clean off her feet. She shrieked and dropped the ball in surprise as she was spun around. And then just as suddenly she was back on solid ground, the arms around her loosening but remaining at her waist.

"I thought this was a non-contact sport?" she asked as she spun around to face Callen, her hands coming to a rest on his chest.

"It was, until Kensi tackled Deeks." Callen laughed.

The game descended into chaos after that. Kensi and Deeks used every opportunity to tackle each other, Eric had grown bored because neither Kensi nor Deeks would throw him the ball and Sam was frustrated because Callen was spending more time flirting with Nell than playing the game.

"Okay, that's it." He shouted out. "Game over."

"What? Why?" Deeks threw his arms out and protested.

"Come on, it's not like we're actually playing anymore." Sam sighed.

"Who won?" Kensi asked suddenly. In all the chaos she had lost track of who had scored what.

"I don't know." Deeks shook his head. "Wasn't someone keeping score?"

"Nell, you usually remember these things?" Kensi asked.

"Last I remember, we were even." She smiled then looked over at Callen. "I got distracted."

"Well let's just call it a tie and be done." Sam shook his head.

"It _is_ getting late." Callen glanced at his watch. "What are we doing for dinner?"

"We could go in to town? We passed a nice place on the way up here." Nell suggested. "I don't mind driving."

"What do you think?" Callen asked the others. They all nodded in agreement. "Okay, I guess we should go clean up. Deeks, you got a little dirt…well everywhere." He laughed as Deeks tugged at his t-shirt and jeans, looking at all the stains caused from his numerous falls into the ground.

"You sure you don't mind driving Nell?" Callen asked, falling into step beside her as they made their way back to camp.

"My liver needs a break after last night." She smiled.

"You did hit the bottle pretty hard." Callen laughed as he slipped his arm loosely around her shoulder.

"And you let me." She countered.

"Deeks said it would happen." Callen shook his head.

"What?"

"You and Kensi blaming us for your hangovers." He chuckled.

"You sat there and let us drink half a bottle of tequila." Nell raised her eyebrows, her lips forming a pout.

"But you had a good time."

"I did." Nell smiled and leaned into him. "But I can have just as good a time tonight, without drinking."

**Sorry, I had to throw a little spanner in the works – it can't all come easy. Oh, and apologies for the terrible football scene – I know next to nothing about American football so was kinda flying by the seat of my pants on that one. **


	7. Chapter 7

**I can't say enough how much your reviews mean. I love getting feedback on what I've created and it motivates me to write more. I hope you enjoy this Zoe :)**

The restaurant Nell suggested was a quaint country style cabin, with old wooden tables and chairs, red checked tablecloths and pictures from the past adorning the walls. The team were seated at a table in the corner, Callen, Sam and Kensi on one side, Nell, Eric and Deeks on the other. Several bottles of wine stood empty on the table alongside the remains of dinner.

"Dessert menus?" their waitress, a middle aged woman with bleached blonde hair and too much eyeliner, asked.

"Yes!" Kensi exclaimed immediately and accepted the bundle of menus she held out.

"And drinks?" the waitress asked as she picked up the last of the plates from the table.

"A round of beers, and a coke." Callen replied. "Thanks."

"I'll be right back sweetie." She winked at Callen (not for the first time since they arrived) and Sam suppressed a laugh.

"What?" Callen asked.

"I think she likes you." Nell giggled.

"Whatever." Callen shook his head.

"Here, who wants one?" Kensi offered the desert menus but only Eric and Nell accepted.

A few minutes later the waitress returned with a tray of beers and Nell's coke.

"You kids decide what you want for dessert?" she asked as she handed out the drinks.

"I'll take the double chocolate fudge cake." Kensi licked her lips as she handed back the menu.

"Apple pie." Eric replied.

"Um, I'll have the ice-cream sundae." Nell finally decided.

"You sure you don't want anything honey?" she asked Callen.

"Oh, I'm sure." Callen nodded, trying to keep the smirk off his face.

Ten minutes later, Kensi was tucking into a warm gooey piece of cake, Eric was shovelling pie into his mouth and Nell was delicately scooping ice-cream out with a small spoon.

"That looks good, can I get a…" Deeks lifted a spare fork from the table and reached out to Kensi's plate but she swatted him away.

"My cake Deeks. If you wanted some, you should have ordered." She mumbled with a full mouth.

"Nell's sharing." Deeks pouted as he looked over to where Callen was leaning forward and taking some of Nell's sundae.

"Kensi's an only child." Sam laughed. "They never learn to share."

"Besides, Callen asked nicely." Nell pointed out.

When dinner and dessert were both over, everyone relaxed into their chairs, drinking beers and chatting animatedly. For once, conversation stayed far out the realm of work and even though she was the only sober one at the table, Nell was still having a good time.

She caught herself watching Callen as he laughed and joked with everyone. It wasn't often, if ever, that she saw him this relaxed. He usually had a guard up, one eye always looking around for some unseen danger. But tonight he was all there, his attention entirely on the team. Every so often, his gaze would shift to her and they would share a moment, a look.

"Last call sweetie." The overly friendly waitress said to Callen as she passed their table. "We'll be closing in half an hour." Callen glanced around at everyone and seeing they were almost finished their drinks he turned back to the waitress.

"We'll just take the check." He nodded.

"Okay honey." She winked at Callen, again, and Nell laughed, covering her mouth to try and stifle it. Callen just shook his head, knowing this was going to provide his partner with material for weeks to come.

"I'll be right back." Nell said as she rose to her feet.

"Bathroom?" Kensi asked and Nell nodded. "I'll go with you." She jumped up from her seat and fell into step beside Nell as they crossed the restaurant.

"Why do women _always_ go to the bathroom together?" Deeks asked, shaking his head.

"To talk about guys." Callen said without looking up from his beer.

"You think they're in there talking about us?" Deeks asked, glancing over in the direction of the bathroom.

"Probably." Sam laughed.

"Maybe they just went to pee." Eric offered, drawing three pairs of eyes to his own.

xxx

In the bathroom, both women stood in front of the mirrors, taking the opportunity to be in a well-lit and clean place to check their hair and make-up and wash up.

"What about that waitress, huh? She's really taken a shine to Callen."

"Who wouldn't." Nell smirked. She had hardly been able to take her eyes off him the whole night herself. It was that damn black leather biker jacket he was wearing. Every time she looked at him in it she felt her knees go weak.

"I don't think you have any competition." Kensi nudged her with her elbow. "Speaking of, you and Callen seem to be getting along better. I guess that little blip at the lake was just that." Kensi grinned as she ran a hand through her hair, shaking out the loose waves.

"Mmm hmm." Nell replied as she pulled out her chapstick and ran it over her lips.

"That's all I get?" Kensi laughed.

"There's nothing more to tell." Nell shrugged.

"Not yet anyway." Kensi laughed. "Come on." She grabbed Nell's hand and together they headed back out.

The guys were already waiting for them near the exit so they moved past their table and joined them.

"What about the check?" Nell asked, realising neither she nor Kensi had paid their share.

"I took care of it." Callen smiled. "Here's your jacket." He held it out for her as she slipped her arms in and shrugged it onto her shoulders. "You got the car keys?"

"Yup." Nell fished them from her purse as Callen held open the door for her.

"Shotgun!" Deeks called out as the six of them made their way across the parking lot.

"Hell no." Callen replied.

"Callen already called it." Nell told Deeks.

"When?"

"Earlier." She shrugged.

"That doesn't count. You can't call Shotgun until the deed is done."

"What?" Kensi asked, shaking her head in confusion.

"The deed, you know, the event immediately before the car ride, in this case dinner. Callen can't call shotgun before that."

"Give it up Deeks, you won't win." Sam shook his head.

"But there are rules." He protested.

"There are shotgun rules?" Eric asked.

"_Official_ shotgun rules and Callen is breaking them." Deeks pouted.

"Well I'm driving and I say Callen gets the front seat." Nell said firmly. Callen grinned and slung his arm around her shoulders, giving her a squeeze.

"But it's not fair." Deeks moaned.

"Life isn't fair." Callen laughed. "Deal with it." He added as they reached the car.

Nell unlocked it and climbed into the front, adjusting the seat so she could reach the pedals, while Callen got in beside her and the other four squeezed into the back. It was a tighter fit than on the way down, when Sam had been in front and Nell in the back.

"I'm getting squashed back here." Kensi moaned as she wriggled to try and get more comfortable.

"Sam, you're sitting on my leg." Deeks whined.

"And where do you suggest I sit?"

"Kensi, I can't feel my arm, can you move?" Eric grumbled.

"Hey!" Nell yelled. "Pipe down or you walk back." She realised she sounded like an annoyed mother with a car full of kids but she had no desire to spent the next twenty minutes driving back to the campsite with everyone bickering.

"That's better." Nell said when they had all settled down and fell silent, for a few moments anyway.

Pulling the car out of the lot, she turned it onto the dark road and headed for camp. She drove carefully and a little slower than necessary, purely from the thought of having the lives of five people who saved the world on a daily basis, in her hands.

"Can you put the radio on?" Kensi asked as she leaned forward a little.

"No techno." Deeks stated as Callen switched it on and began searching for a station.

"Or country." Eric rolled his eyes.

"And before you say anything Sam, we are not listening to any jazz." Callen twisted in his seat and grinned at his partner, who just laughed.

Callen finally settled on a generic pop station and as the cheesy tunes filled the car, he settled back in the seat and let his eyes close. He listened to the banter being tossed around in the back seat for a few minutes, then turned his head and looked at Nell. She was concentrating hard on the road ahead, both hands gripping the steering wheel firmly.

He thought back over the past few weeks and how close he had come to losing her. And even when it was over and she was safe, he had to watch her fight her way back. The others didn't know how truly hard it had been for her. They hadn't been there when she had broken down and cried. They hadn't seen her wake from nightmares and be afraid to go back to sleep. He had. But he had also seen her grow stronger as a result, turning her into the woman he now found himself totally captivated by.

"You're staring at me." She said quietly.

"Does it bother you?" he asked. He wasn't worried about the others in the back hearing him. They were chatting amongst themselves and not paying a blind bit of attention to what was going on up front.

"No." she shook her head and smiled to herself.

"Good." He settled back and faced forward, watching the road ahead. For the rest of the ride, he glanced over at her every few minutes, knowing that before this weekend was over, he had to take things to the next level. He couldn't live in this limbo much longer.

xxx

"We're here." Nell announced as she pulled the SUV into a parking spot at the campsite.

"Oh thank god." Eric gasped as he took off his seatbelt, threw open the door and staggered out. The others followed, stretching out from being so cramped in the back seat.

"I'm exhausted." Kensi yawned as they all followed the dirt path leading to their campsite.

"Me too." Deeks nodded. "I think it's from being tackled repeatedly all afternoon." He teased.

"We should get up early tomorrow. Make the most of our last day, maybe go for a hike or something." Sam suggested as they reached their camp. "But right now I'm gonna hit the sack." He patted Callen on the shoulder as he headed for his tent.

"Me too. Night guys." Eric started towards his tent. "Thanks for driving Nell." He added as he passed his pseudo partner.

"No problem." She shrugged.

"If I don't get to sleep before him, he'll keep me awake with his snoring." Deeks laughed as he started to follow Eric. "Night partner." Deeks waved enthusiastically at Kensi who rolled her eyes.

Then it was just Callen, Nell and Kensi. And she stood feeling like the biggest third wheel in history, while Callen and Nell just stared at each other. She could have cut the tension with a knife. It was like neither of them wanted the night to end but they didn't know how to vocalise it. And her being there wasn't helping.

"Uh, I'm gonna go to sleep too." Kensi said as she backed away. "G'night." She took one last glance over her shoulder at the pair, noting the pair's awkward body language. She had a bad feeling this wasn't going to end in a good night kiss and she worried that two people who were clearly meant to be together weren't going to get there.

"Looks like the party's over." Callen said softly when he and Nell were alone. He wanted to ask her to stay up with him but the words wouldn't come out. As much as he wanted to take things further, to kiss her and hold her and tell her he never wanted to let her go, it was like he was afraid to take that last step. His heart said one thing but his head just wouldn't co-operate.

"Yeah." Nell sighed. "Um, thanks for getting dinner." She said as she took a hesitant step towards him.

"Sure." He nodded. "Uh, good night. I guess." He said as he closed the gap between them.

"Night Callen." Nell chewed on her lip, staring at him for a long moment before they both backed away from each other.

"I'll see you in the morning." He called as she backed away towards her tent.

Callen watched Nell walk away from him, the whole time a voice inside his head shouting 'wait, come back'. But no audible words came out and as she disappeared into her tent, he realised he had let another moment slip through his fingers. Rubbing his hands over his head, he sighed loudly then headed to his tent.

As Nell turned and crossed the short distance to her tent, she was disappointed that he hadn't made some move to get her to stay but she was more disappointed in herself. Despite talking with Kensi about her giving him a push in the right direction, she hadn't done anything either. She just didn't understand why she was so reluctant to follow through.

She crawled into her tent and heaved a loud sigh as she settled herself on her sleeping bag and began to rummage through her bag for something to sleep in.

"Nell, what the hell." Kensi whispered.

"What?" Nell asked as she glanced up.

"Why aren't you out there, with him." She jerked her head towards the tent flap.

"He's going to bed Kensi." She sighed.

"Callen doesn't sleep." She replied, her voice sounding frustrated. "I know you want him, and he wants you. But you're not going to get anywhere if one of you doesn't make the first move."

"Maybe I'm just not ready." Nell said quickly. She realised her fast answer was the true answer. Maybe she really wasn't ready to permanently change her relationship with Callen. Once she did, there was no going back.

"I'm sorry." Kensi sighed, pausing to think about what she was pushing Nell into. "I don't mean to push you, but I just know you'll be happy together."

"It's okay Kensi." Nell told her as she slid out of her jeans and into a pair of sweats then pulled a long sleeved cotton shirt on to replace the one she wore to dinner. "Maybe we can talk about it in the morning." Nell offered. Right now she needed time to think. If she was going to make the first move, she needed to get her head, and her heart, straight.

**Hahahahahaha Sorry, I just had to tease you for one more chapter. But I promise, the next one should satisfy all your Nallen cravings. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, so I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this but I can't wait any longer. I've been stringing it out enough. Here is what you have all been waiting for. I hope it lives up to your expectations. Zoe.**

Nell awoke from a troubled sleep with a start. She had been having a nightmare and though it didn't have her crying out and thrashing around in her sleep, it left her with her heart racing, her breath coming in short sharp gasps and a cold sweat on her brow. It was a feeling she had grown accustomed to over the past two weeks having rarely had a night's sleep without a nightmare of sorts. Glancing over, she was relieved to see she hadn't disturbed Kensi. The agent appeared to still be sleeping soundly, lying on her stomach and tucked up in her sleeping bag with her long brown hair splayed out across her back.

Sitting up and flicking on the small lantern at her side to take the darkness away, Nell pushed her sleeping bag down to her waist and ran her hands over her face. The nightmare never changed and it led her to look down at the angry red scar on her forearm. Pushing up the sleeve of her shirt, she traced a finger over the raised flesh. She took a few deep breaths and reminded herself that it was all over and she had come out the other side in one piece. But her mind was buzzing and she was now wide awake. Experience had taught her there was little point in trying to go back to sleep right away and glancing at her cell phone and seeing that it was a little after 2am, she decided to take a walk to clear her mind and calm herself down so she could try and go back to sleep.

Careful not to disturb Kensi, she crawled out of her sleeping bag and unzipped the tent. Taking a look out into the darkness, she immediately noticed there was a fire burning at their fire pit. She stepped out into the cool night air and took a closer look as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She could see a figure sitting by the log but was entirely unsurprised at who it was. What did surprise her was the feint sound of a guitar being strummed. It answered her question from Friday morning. The guitar belonged to Callen.

After the first nightmares shook her to her core, Nell had found comfort in Callen and she found herself needing that same comfort now. So Nell began to walk quietly across the grass towards the fire pit with her arms crossed over her chest. She was still a few feet away when he seemed to sense her presence. He ceased his strumming but he didn't look around.

"Don't let me stop you." She said quietly as she moved closer and dropped down onto the ground at his side, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

Callen gave Nell the once over and just knew she'd been woken by a nightmare. In the days after Valdez's attack, he had seen her have several and her face always had that same pained look when she woke. It was the look of someone reliving the worst moment of their life. He turned back to look down at the guitar, his fingers ghosting over the strings, not playing a song, just strumming chords.

"I didn't know you played." Nell looked over at him.

"I don't. Not really." He shrugged and set the guitar on the ground at his side. "Want to talk about it?"

Nell shivered a little, knowing he was asking her about her nightmare. He had asked the same thing each time she had woken with one when he was staying with her at the safe house and that first night back in her apartment. She'd never shared before - it was hard enough for her deal with them without vocalising the terror she felt to someone else. But maybe now was the time. Maybe she needed to let him in completely.

"Only if you share that blanket." She smiled weakly, gesturing to the blanket Callen had draped loosely around his shoulders.

"It's a little small, might not reach all the way over to you." He replied in a low husky voice. Nell didn't need a more formal invitation. She crouched and moved herself between his legs, settling back against his chest as he pulled the blanket around them both. She felt his arms encircle her and his chin come to a rest on the top of her head. Her body was flooded with warmth from him and she felt safe, a feeling she found herself increasing seeking and only finding with him.

"It's always the same." She said quietly. "You don't get there in time." She felt Callen's arms tighten around her as she spoke.

"I have the same dream Nell." He whispered in her ear causing her to shudder as his breath caressed her skin. "But that's not how it worked out."

"I know." She nodded and shifted a little, the blanket falling away from her left arm. Realising her scar was on show, she quickly grabbed at the sleeve of her shirt to cover it up but Callen's hand stopped her.

"You hide it." Callen said. Nell couldn't disagree. She had been wearing long sleeved tops since that night, first to cover the bandage and then to cover the scar when the stitches had been taken out. She hated seeing it and she didn't want anyone else to see it either.

"It's a constant reminder." Nell sighed heavily. Every time she looked at her scar, she felt the knife cutting her, saw Valdez's face above hers ready to plunge the knife into her body. Callen's hand moved from hers and he ran his fingers slowly down her forearm along the length of the raised scar. Nell hitched in a breath as his touch sent shivers through her body.

"The doctor says it will fade, in time." She added, her voice barely a whisper.

"Some people see scars and it's being wounded that they remember. To me Nell, scars are proof of the fact there is healing." Callen murmured in her ear.

Nell twisted in his arms and tilted her head up to look at him. She hadn't consciously intended on entering into a deep and meaningful conversation with Callen but perhaps deep down she knew that's exactly what would happen when she came over to him. And maybe it was what they needed.

"There wouldn't have been any healing it if weren't for you." She told him softly as she reached up and touched his cheek with her hand, gently brushing her fingers across his rough facial hair. "You saved me that night and you've saved me every day and every night after." She whispered. "I wouldn't have made it through without you."

"You're special to me Nell." He whispered. "I'd do anything for you." He leaned closer and as she slid her hand down to rest on his neck, he raised his and took her cheek, his thumb brushing her soft skin. It was in this moment that Nell realised what was going to happen. They had been dancing around it for weeks but the last two days had brought them here and she knew if something was going to happen, this was the moment and there was nothing to interrupt them this time. Everyone else was asleep and they were all alone.

Nell's eyes fluttered closed as his thumb moved from her cheek and brushed across her lower lip. She was completely at his mercy as he traced his fingers along her jaw and back to her lips. Callen was so close she could feel his breath on her skin and she inhaled a sharp breath as his lips came tantalisingly close to hers.

Callen knew exactly what he was doing. He had wanted to do it for weeks but the moment was never right. But it seemed like now was the moment whether he was ready for it or not. He had let something stop him earlier but he wasn't going to let anything stop him this time.

He leaned in close to her, his lips hovering above hers, savouring the moment but teasing her at the same time. And then with the lightest of touches, he finally brushed his lips against hers. Nell let out an almost inaudible gasp at the feather light kiss. He swept his lips across hers in another light, sensual kiss, as he moved his hand to cradle the back of her head. He felt her hand gripping the fabric of his t-shirt as he kissed the corner of her mouth then placed several butterfly light kisses on her cheek. Pressing his lips against hers again, he parted them and ran his tongue across her lower lip, eliciting a soft whimper. Nell slid her hand to the back of his neck and pulled him closer, craving more. Giving her what she wanted, Callen deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth with his tongue and feeling her respond to him. He pulled her tight against his body and for several minutes they were totally lost in each other.

Callen finally slowed things down, knowing this was not the place to get too carried away, and he peppered her lips with several short kisses before pulling back. As he watched her slowly open her eyes, he noted the slightly dazed but happy look on her face and he grinned. Blinking several times, Nell smiled nervously and buried her face in his chest for a moment. Callen placed a soft kiss on the top of her head then turned her back around so she was once again resting against his chest. Tightening his arms around her, he leaned down and nuzzled against her neck, dropping slow, soft kisses on her skin. Neither felt the need to talk, to explain or to analyse what was happening. They didn't need words to know they were both right where they were supposed to be.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry it's been a while since I updated this story - I encountered a smidge of writers block but finally broke through it. I hope you enjoy :) Zoe**

Kensi heard the chirping of birds and it slowly roused her from sleep. She pushed her hair from her face and blinked her eyes open. Rolling over onto her back, she groaned and lifted her body up, resting on her elbows.

"Morning." Nell greeted her cheerfully.

"Urgh, morning." Kensi groaned as she heaved herself fully up. "What time is it?"

"A little after seven." Nell replied brightly as she climbed out of her sleeping bag and began to root around for clean clothes to wear.

"Why are you so perky?" Kensi asked, a sly grin crossing her face as she formed an idea about just why Nell couldn't keep a smile off her face.

"No reason." Nell smiled to herself.

"Oh please. Don't think I didn't hear you sneaking out of here last night."

"I went for a walk." Nell lied…badly.

"Did that walk take you three hours?" Kensi asked with raised eyebrows. "I heard you coming back in only a couple of hours ago." Kensi laughed as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Spill it." Nell looked at Kensi and suddenly came over all shy, looking away and focusing on the clothes she held in her lap.

"You and Callen?" Kensi asked. Nell's eyes darted up and met Kensi's, instantly giving her the answer.

"We…kissed." Nell admitted, the smile creeping back onto her face. Kensi jumped onto her knees and beamed a smile at Nell.

"What happened? I mean last night when I went to bed you two were not exactly…"

"I know." Nell interrupted. "But I had a…" Nell caught herself before she revealed too much to Kensi. "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, and was going to go for a walk. But he was up and we talked and…"

"He kissed you? You kissed him? Was there tongue?" Kensi fired the questions quickly.

"God Kensi, what are you, fourteen?" Nell laughed.

"Just living vicariously." Kensi grinned.

"He kissed me." Nell sighed in content.

"And?"

"And, well you know. You've kissed him." Nell shrugged.

"When we were undercover, it was acting. Besides, it was like kissing my brother." Kensi smirked. "Come on, tell me." she begged.

"All I'm going to say is I _thought_ I had been kissed before but clearly those boys have a _lot_ to learn." She laughed.

"So are you two together now?" Kensi asked.

"I guess we are." Nell grinned.

Xxx

It was a little after seven and Callen was stoking the fire so he could get some coffee started for everyone. He had only gotten a few hours of sleep after Nell had returned to her tent, but he was high on energy and there was one simple reason for that. He was happy. For too long he had been fighting his feelings, torn between pursuing something that could be very special and running from the risks it would bring both to his personal life and his work life. But in the early hours of that morning she had come to him, and under the stars and in the orange glow of the fire, they had finally found their way.

A rustling sound behind him shook him from his thoughts and as he turned around, he saw Sam emerge from his tent, dressed in khakis and a black t-shirt and all ready for his team hike.

"Morning G." he greeted his friend as he walked over to join him.

"Good morning Sam." Callen chirped.

"Someone's sounds happy." Sam smirked.

"Someone is." Callen replied with a grin as he set the water on to boil.

"Does this sudden cheeriness have anything to do with a certain intelligence analyst you've been mooning over for weeks?" Sam asked.

"It has everything to do with her." Callen replied. "Nell and I, we're…together now." He focused on Sam and awaited his response.

"It's 'bout time." Sam laughed. "I'm happy for you G." he patted his partner on the shoulder. "For both of you." He added. "But why is no-one else up yet? We're supposed to be going on a hike." Sam glanced around the quiet campsite.

"Relax Sam, they'll get up." Callen told him as he moved about, pulling supplies from the cooler and getting breakfast ready.

"Oh my God it's early!"

Both Sam and Callen whipped their heads around when they heard the loud grumblings of Deeks as he emerged from his tent with Eric trailing behind him.

"I need coffee. Where's my stash?" Deeks staggered towards the fire, one hand shielding his eyes from the bright morning sun. "Coffee." He repeated.

"In a minute Deeks." Callen laughed. "Kensi said you were a caffeine junkie but wow." he shook his head as they all gathered around the fire.

Kensi and Nell had got dressed and freshened up a little in their tent, and emerged to find the boys were already up and standing around the fire pit. As soon as Callen noticed them, he looked over and a wide grin spread over his face. Kensi glanced at Nell and when saw the same grin on the young woman's face, her own broke into a smile. New love was something special and though it had been a long time since Kensi had experienced it, she never forgot that feeling.

"Morning." Kensi called out to everyone as the two of them made their way to the fire pit. Callen started walking towards them and as soon as he reached Nell, he took her hands in his, leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. They had agreed the night before that they didn't want to hide anything from their friends. They all hid too much of their lives as it was, and since Callen knew Nell had talked to Kensi, Deeks had hinted at knowing something was up, Sam had been more obvious and had also told him Eric already believed they were in a relationship, there was no point in being anything other than honest.

"Good morning." He whispered.

"Good morning." She grinned back.

"Come on, I've got coffee ready." Callen let go of one of her hands but held on tight to the other as he led her over to the fire pit.

Xxx

"Sam, this is quite possibly the worst idea you have ever had." Deeks muttered as he flapped his hands in front of his face, trying to wave away the flies and bugs buzzing around him.

"You're just not in tune with nature." Sam retorted as he pressed forward up the hill.

"Yeah Deeks, what happened to 'learning to love the outdoors'." Kensi laughed as she jogged past him and fell into step beside Sam.

"I tried. I failed." Deeks sighed. "Can I go back now?"

"Deeks, we only left camp twenty minutes ago!" Sam replied incredulously.

"Twenty minutes too long." He grumbled before stumbling on some broken twigs.

"I'm not enjoying this any more than you are." Eric told him as he caught up to the Detective. "But it's easier if you just roll with it. Trust me." He added as he trudged forward.

"What is wrong with you people?" Sam stopped and turned. "This is nature's wonderland." He held his arms wide.

"Well nature's wonderland is giving me hives." Deeks moaned. "And why do Callen and Nell get out of this torture?" he asked.

"They didn't, they're right behind…" Sam paused as he looked around and realised that Callen and Nell were nowhere to be seen. Chuckling to himself, he didn't let his mind think about what they were up to. "Deeks move." He thumbed in the direction of the trail they were taking.

"But."

"No buts." Sam said firmly.

"You're like a drill sergeant." Deeks muttered as he trudged ahead.

Xxx

Callen and Nell had stayed at the back of the group as they set off into the woods. They hadn't gone very far before Nell tugged on Callen's hand, bringing him to a stop. She wasn't sure she knew exactly what she was doing, but she had spent the last fifteen minutes walking with him, their fingers intertwined, and the whole time all she could think was how much she didn't want to be with a group.

"Nell?" Callen turned to face her.

"I'm not really feeling like a hike this morning." Nell caught her lower lip between her teeth and smiled a little.

"Oh really." Callen smiled and closed the distance between them. "What _do_ you feel like?" he asked as he settled his hands on her hips and tugged her against him. Nell cocked her head to one side and subconsciously licked her lips as she slid her hands up to rest on his chest. Rising onto her tip toes, she stretched up to kiss him but couldn't quite reach so she slipped one hand behind his neck and drew him down to her, pressing her lips to his in a soft but enticing kiss.

"Some time alone." She told him when she pulled back. Callen glanced behind him, where the rest of the team were disappearing over the ridge.

"I don't think they'll miss us." He whispered in a low husky voice before he caught her lips in kiss that was brief but left no doubt that he was on the same page as her.

Xxx

Sam, Kensi, Eric and Deeks had reached a small clearing in the woods and stopped beside a fallen tree for a water break. Eric and Deeks sank down onto the grass, leaning against the log, while Kensi and Sam hovered beside them.

"So, exactly how long have Callen and Nell been hooking up?" Eric asked suddenly. All eyes turned to him, surprised at his bluntness.

"They haven't." Kensi replied. "At least not until last night."

"Last night?" Deeks asked. "How do you know?"

"Girls talk." She shrugged.

"Sam, Callen must have said something to you." Deeks looked to the older agent.

"Nope." Sam shook his head. "And you know what? I don't need to hear about it anyway. As long as they're happy."

"So we're happy for them then?" Eric checked.

"Of course we are." Kensi turned to Eric. "Is there some reason you _can't_ be?" she probed.

"No." Eric shook his head. "Nell's my friend. It's just…weird is all."

"Weird?" Sam asked.

"I think Callen and Nell make a cute couple." Kensi butted in.

"You're putting the words Callen and cute in the same sentence?" Deeks laughed. "It's probably a good thing they bailed on us."

"Alright ladies." Sam interrupted. "Enough gossiping. Let's hit the trail."

"Isn't this supposed to be fun?" Deeks asked Eric as they staggered to their feet.

Xxx

The sun was shining down through a cloudless sky as Callen and Nell lay entwined in each other by the fire pit. Callen lay flat on his back on top of a blanket with Nell curled into his side, resting her upper body on his chest as they exchanged slow languid kisses.

"This is so much better than hiking in the woods with Sam." Callen chuckled when they broke for air.

"How long do you think it took them to realise we were gone?" Nell mused as she trailed her fingers down his cheek.

"Not long."

"You think they're talking about us?" she asked.

"Probably." He replied with a smile. "But I don't want to talk about them." He said as he flipped them over so Nell was on her back and he was leaning over her.

"What _do_ you want to talk about?" Nell asked with a sly smile tugging at her lips. Meeting his eyes, she could see passion and lust swirling in them and as he licked his lips, she could feel the shift from a gentle relaxed make-out session to something much more serious.

"I don't want to talk at all." Callen whispered as he captured her lips and kissed her deeply. Nell moaned softly as his tongue ran along her lower lip and his fingers slid under her t-shirt, brushing against the skin at her waist. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close as he deepened this kiss, his tongue dancing with hers and exploring her mouth, making her arch into him and moan softly.

Callen began to trail kisses down Nell's neck and his hand slid further up under her t-shirt, brushing lightly against her the fabric of her bra. Feeling his gentle touch, Nell let out in involuntary giggle and immediately Callen pulled back. Nell clamped a hand over her mouth as a smile tugged at Callen's lips.

"Something amusing you." He murmured. Nell she shook her head and Callen returned his lips to hers letting his hand slide over her skin, cupping her breast. Again, Nell couldn't stop the giggle and this time Callen had to ask.

"What is so funny?"

"Nothing." Nell immediate replied, hoping she hadn't accidentally insulted him. He stared at her, with his 'I know you're lying' look and she sighed softly, a smile pulling at the corner of her lips.

"It's just, we're actually doing this." She said. "A few weeks ago we were just colleagues going about our business, making small talk, and now…well now you have your hand up my shirt and are kissing me senseless."

"May be I should stop." He said playfully as he withdrew his hand and rolled off her, returning to his position on his back. Nell knew from the tone of his voice and the look on his face he was only teasing her so playing along, she lifted herself up and straddled his lap, leaning down over him.

"No, you shouldn't." she whispered as she leaned into kiss him. But Callen turned his head, toying with her. Pouting, Nell trailed her hand down his chest, tugging at his t-shirt to get his attention. He looked up and met her hazel eyes as he lifted his hands and settled them on her hips.

"No?" he asked.

"No." she replied smiling.

"Okay then." Callen grinned and flipped them over eliciting a squeal from Nell as she found herself pinned to the ground. Their eyes locked and neither moved for several seconds as they both took several heavy breaths before Callen leaned down and continued to kiss her senseless.

**Probably only one more chapter to go on this story. Thanks for sticking with me and leaving reviews - they make me smile :) Zoe**


	10. Chapter 10

**So I've had a terrible case of writers block lately, maybe too much on my mind with work or something, who knows. But I've pushed through and finished this story - this is the last chapter, with a really short epilogue to follow. I'm not entirely happy with it but I didn't want to drag it out any longer. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me through this story, I really appreciate your support and reviews :) Zoe.**

It was lunchtime when Sam and Kensi led a bedraggled and bug bitten Deeks and Eric back towards camp. Knowing Callen and Nell were not likely to be sitting chatting back at camp judging by how quickly they had abandoned the group, Sam had fired off a warning text to his friend, so no-one would catch anyone in a compromising position. While he had no problem with Callen and Nell getting together, he didn't need to be witness to it.

"So Deeks, is the outdoors as bad as you think?" Kensi asked with a big grin.

"Worse." Deeks replied as he slapped at his arm, killing another bug trying to bite him. "I don't know what I was thinking coming along this weekend." He grumbled.

"Awe, come on. It isn't all that bad." Kensi said as she looped her arm through his. "The company is good, right?" she asked with a glint in her eye.

"Well, I guess I can't complain about that." Deeks smiled. "But this whole outdoorsy thing, I think it's something we'll just have to agree to disagree about, partner."

"I can go along with that." Kensi replied.

"I'm with Deeks." Eric spoke up. "The only outdoors I want to experience is the beach."

"Well, at least you gave it a try." Sam laughed as he led them out of the woods and onto the path heading back to camp.

As they came into the clearing, they could see Callen and Nell pottering around the fire pit. Nell spotted them first and tapped Callen on the arm to let him know.

"Hey guys!" Nell called out as the four returned.

"Hey Nell." Kensi replied slyly. "You two have a nice morning?" she asked with a wiggle of her eyebrows, noting her young friend's tousled hair, swollen lips and the distinct mark of an emerging hickey on her neck.

"We did, thanks for asking." Nell replied, knowing exactly what Kensi was thinking.

"How was the hike?" Callen asked Sam as he packed up some of the coffee cups and utensils they had out for breakfast.

"It would have been better without these two complaining the whole time." Sam threw a playful glare towards Eric and Deeks. "But it was good. I feel at one with nature." he smiled and inhaled a deep breath of fresh air.

"Don't start with all that new age hippie nonsense Sam. You know it freaks me out." Callen shook his head and smiled.

"So what are we doing this afternoon?" Nell asked as she re-joined Callen and slid her arm around his waist. "I want to make the most of the time we have left before we need to head back to the city." She glanced up at Callen and flashed him a warm smile.

"There's a place that hires out rowboats down the lake. Maybe we could take a couple out?" Kensi suggested.

"At last, something I can enjoy." Deeks sighed.

"You know Kensi won't let you row, right?" Callen laughed.

"Then I can just sit back and relax." Deeks smiled. "Right partner?"

"Just for that, I'm going to make you do all the rowing." Kensi scowled.

"Sam, Eric, are you in?" Callen asked.

The two men looked at each, each thinking the same thing – two grown men taking a spin in a rowing boat wasn't exactly cool. In fact it was decidedly uncool given the romantic overtones of such an activity, especially given the other two pairings.

"Um…" Eric began.

"I don't know." Sam shook his head.

"Come on guys. I bet Kensi and I can beat you across the lake." Deeks said encouragingly. "Winner buys dinner?"

"Deeks, does everything have to be a competition with you?" Sam laughed.

"Not everything." He sulked.

"Fine." Sam threw his hands up in resignation. "We're in."

"We are?" Eric looked mortified and glanced between Sam and the rest of the group.

"Awesome. Let's grab some lunch and then head down." Kensi grinned.

Xxx

An hour later and three rowing boats were making their way out onto the lake. In one boat, Callen was rowing as Nell reclined back, letting the afternoon sun shine down and warm her skin. Just a few feet away Kensi and Deeks were bickering about who should row, the result of which was each of them grabbing an oar and their boat starting to go in circles. Sam and Eric were in the third boat and were waiting patiently for everyone else to get their act together.

"So, where are we racing to?" Sam called over to Deeks.

"The buoy here to the one over there and back!" Deeks called back, pointing to where a little orange blob could be seen bobbing in the water some distance away. He had no idea how far it actually was but it didn't look too far and he was confident he and Kensi could beat Sam and Eric.

"Hey G, you and Nell getting in on this?" Sam called to his partner. Callen glanced at Nell then over at his partner.

"What do you say Nell, think we can give these guys a run for their money?" Callen asked.

"Probably not but what the hell." She shrugged.

With the three boats lined up, Deeks counted down from three to one and with vigour, Deeks, Sam and Callen began rowing hard and fast, encouraged by their boat-mates. Deeks slowly began to take the lead as Sam and Callen battled for second position.

"Come on Callen, put your back into it." Nell yelled, getting caught up in the competition. He rolled his eyes and chuckled, wondering if she would always be that bossy.

The buoy they were all heading for started to get closer and although Callen rowed fast, Sam started to creep ahead, his huge arms clearly giving him an advantage. Though it was apparently no match for Deeks, as he and Kensi had already rounded the buoy and were heading back to where they had started from when Sam and Eric manoeuvred their boat around the buoy. Callen and Nell were close behind and the front of their boat bumped the back of Sam's as they turned.

"Hey, watch it!" Sam called out.

"Stay outta my way then." Callen laughed back as he moved his boat up beside Sam's.

The two boats battled on, side by side as they tried to catch Deeks and Kensi.

"We're actually winning!" Deeks exclaimed as he glanced behind him and saw their starting buoy getting close.

"Don't get cocky, they still have time." Kensi replied as she looked behind her at the other two boats slowly gaining on them.

"I got this in the bag, partner." Deeks grinned cheekily as he increased his pace and rowed a little faster. Kensi stared at his arms and his muscles flexing with every pull. She knew he was strong, he had after all, pulled her clear of an explosion, but she was surprised that he was stronger and faster than Sam who had arm muscles like tree trunks.

"Come on Callen, they can't beat us." Nell cried as Sam and Eric began to edge ahead.

"You wanna give this a go?" Callen laughed as Nell looked over at Sam then at the oars, clearly deciding she couldn't row them any faster than Callen could.

"Fine, but if we're going to lose and have to buy dinner, at least let me pick where we go." She smiled.

"Done." Callen grinned as he kept rowing.

Only moments later a loud cheer sounded across the lake. Callen glanced over his shoulder to see Deeks standing up in the boat, his arms punching the air.

"I win!" he called out with glee. "I finally win!"

"Deeks will you sit down, you're rocking the boat." Kensi said warily as she braced her hands on either side of the small rowing boat.

"Relax Kensi." Deeks told her. "Looks like Callen and Nell are buying dinner." He laughed as Sam and Eric pulled up beside them, closely followed by Callen and Nell. "I want steak!" Deeks shouted over to Callen. But no sooner had he spoke than he lost his balance and began to wobble precariously back and forth.

"Deeks!" Kensi warned as the boat rocked dangerously.

But her warning was lost on the Detective as he was unable to regain his balance. With arms waving and a loud yelp, he fell sideways into the water, tipping the boat over and plunging Kensi into the lake along with himself. Nell let out a gasp and clamped a hand over her mouth while Sam burst out laughing, Eric looked shocked and Callen just shook his head, as if expecting something like this to happen.

Kensi and Deeks quickly disappeared under the water for a few seconds then with everyone looking on, they burst to the surface, Kensi spluttering and looking incredibly angry as she flailed around. Deeks shook his head like a shaggy dog and laughed. Regaining her composure somewhat, Kensi paddled over to their boat.

"You idiot." She yelled back at Deeks.

"It's just a little water Kens." Deeks laughed as he swam over to join her.

"You guys alright?" Callen asked.

"No." Kensi huffed. "I'm soaking wet." She grumbled as she grabbed hold of the side of their boat and used one hand to wipe away the hair sticking to the side of her face.

"You'll dry off." Deeks smiled as he awkwardly hauled himself back into the boat, causing it to rock and Kensi to lose her grip on the edge. She fell back under the water for just a second before Deeks leaned over and grabbed her arm, pulling her back up.

"Come on Kens." Deeks smiled despite the glare she was throwing him, and grabbed her other arm, hauling her back into the boat beside him.

"I can't believe you did that." Kensi said as she thumped Deeks on the arm.

"I can." Callen laughed. "Maybe you two should head back in and dry off." He suggested.

"Yeah, we'll join you." Sam interjected.

"You and Eric don't feel like a romantic row on the lake?" Callen asked, winking at his partner.

"You're definitely buying us steak now G." Sam retorted. "A big fat juicy porterhouse."

"That sounds good." Deeks nodded. "I know just the place."

"Alright, alright." Callen lifted his hands in defeat. "As soon as you guys are dry and camp is packed up, we'll head back to the city."

As Kensi and Deeks, Sam and Eric began to row back to shore to return the boats, Nell reached over and covered Callen's hand with hers.

"Can we stay out a bit longer?" she asked, her eyes wide and hopeful.

"Sure." Callen nodded. "Hey Sam!" he called to his partner. "We'll be in a little while, gonna take another spin."

As the other two boats drifted away, Nell carefully moved herself from her position opposite Callen to sit between his legs, resting her back against his chest and sighing contentedly when he wrapped his arms around her.

"You like it here huh?" Callen smiled and kissed her cheek.

"I always did like the outdoors."

"I wasn't talking about the outdoors Nell." Callen whispered in her ear. "I was talking about _here_." Meaning in his embrace, he squeezed his arms around her. Nell turned her head to look up at him, her big hazel eyes locking with his bright blue ones.

"Can you blame me." She replied softly before stretching up to kiss him.

Shifting positions a little, Callen leaned back in the boat so they were both almost lying down. He had no intention of rowing anywhere until they had to head back to shore. Nell wriggled a little and twisted so she was facing him, her hand resting on his chest.

"It's not always going to be this easy, is it?" she asked quietly.

"What isn't?"

"Us." Nell replied. "Just being together. I mean with work and everything we deal with day in and day out."

"We'll just need to make the time." Callen told her before dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "Take the moments we have."

"We'll make it work." Nell smiled before leaning up and placing a soft kiss on his lips. As Callen's arms tightened around her and she felt him rest his chin on her head, Nell had never been so happy.

Xxx

The sky was dark, the moon high, and in a steakhouse in downtown LA, the team were seated around a large oak table finishing off the steak dinners Callen was paying for. Callen sat with Nell at his side, his arm draped over her shoulder as he sipped beer from a bottle. Throughout the meal, his eyes drifted had down to her frequently, a smile planted on his face. He was still having difficulty believing they were actually together now.

"This turned out to be a pretty great weekend." He said suddenly.

"Yeah, we beat Deeks twice, basketball and football." Sam laughed.

"And I beat you once." Deeks reminded him.

"At rowing." Eric snorted.

"At least we didn't get obscenely drunk like these two." Deeks gestured to Kensi and Nell.

"The hangover and the unexpected dip in the lake aside, I'm really glad we did this." Kensi said, choosing to ignore Deeks' comment. "It was nice to get away from the city and everything, even if it was just for the weekend."

"Just don't expect Hetty to give us another long weekend for a long while." Callen said as he lifted his beer to his lips.

"She'll work us twice as hard when we get back." Sam added.

"We can handle it." Nell grinned and looked up at Callen. She was pretty sure with him in her life she could handle anything.

"It is getting late though, we should hit the road." Sam said, glancing at his watch.

"Yeah, we don't want to incur Hetty's wrath by being late our first day back." Nell laughed.

"You got this, right?" Deeks looked to Callen.

"Yeah, I got it." Callen smiled and pulled a wad of cash from his jeans. "A bet is a bet."

After settling the bill and grabbing their jackets, the six team members headed out into the cool night air and back to the two cars parked up the street.

"Guess we'll see you in the morning then." Kensi said as she unlocked her car.

"Night Kensi." Nell stepped forward and gave Kensi a quick hug. Nell wasn't normally a hugger, but over the past couple of days she and Kensi had grown closer as friends and Kensi had helped push her and Callen together and she hadn't really thanked her for that. "Thanks for everything." She said quietly before she pulled back, leaving Kensi with a smile on her face.

"G'night Kensi. Deeks, Eric." Callen nodded as the three of them clambered into Kensi's car and slowly pulled away from the curb. Callen then led Nell over to Sam's car and opened the door for her. With a smile she climbed in as he closed the door behind her. She was an independent woman but chivalry never went unnoticed and she had a feeling that Callen was a chivalrous kind of guy and she would be seeing a lot more of that.

Twenty minutes later Sam pulled up to Nell's apartment.

"I'll help you up with your stuff Nell." Callen offered as she climbed out the back of the SUV.

"Thanks." Nell nodded as climbed out. "Thanks for driving Sam." She added before she closed the door and walked around to the curb to wait for Callen as he retrieved her backpack from the trunk. With it slung over his shoulder, they walked side by side up to her apartment, their fingers laced together.

"So, I guess this is goodnight." Callen sighed as he put down her bag when they reached her door. Nell bit down on her lower lip and glanced at her feet for just a moment.

"It doesn't have to be." She said as she dragged her eyes up to meet his.

Waiting in the car, Sam heard his cell beeping. He pulled it from his pocket and checked the message;

_Staying at Nell's, G._

Shaking his head, Sam smiled and turned the engine back on. He had seen this relationship building over recent weeks, but it was still a little odd to think about his best friend with Nell – they didn't seem to have a lot in common and there was a big age gap, but maybe their differences would be why it would work. Regardless, Sam had never seen Callen so content and after everything his partner and best friend had been through in his life, he deserved happiness.

**Thanks for reading, I'd love you to leave a review**


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue to finish things off...Thanks for coming on this ride with me! Zoe.**

It was a little after 9am and Hetty was standing on the upper level, looking down over the bullpen, analysing the results of her decision the week before. Her agents were at their desks, laughing and joking as they got their morning coffee fix. Eric and Nell had joined them just a few minutes ago and while she didn't know exactly what had happened that weekend, her agents and support staff looked well rested and very much refreshed. She had clearly made the right decision in giving them some time off, even though it had been a tad hectic at OSP in their absence.

And Hetty knew Callen would be coming to talk to her later. She could see it in the way he looked at her and the way she looked back at him, that things had changed between the Senior Agent and Intelligence Analyst. It wasn't a surprise - Hetty had seen it coming for months. And she was pleased for him. G Callen had been alone too long and if the perky, confident young woman she had brought into the team were to bring him even a little happiness, she wouldn't stand in the way.


End file.
